Introduction

Basic Search is a simple, straightforward and user-friendly search interface most suited for beginners. Only the essential and most used search-and-display fields and features are available. Searching with Basic Search is similar to using the popular internet search portals. Getting results needs no prior experience.

Basic Search screen features four tabs--About, Search, Results and Output--to help you navigate through various features and functions of BiblioLine. Click the tab to move to that particular page. For instance, click the Search tab to display the Search page containing various search fields.

Click About tab to view copyright and licensing info about the database. If you want to know details about the database such as product overview, database content, subject coverage, related products, available user levels, full-text linking partners, OpenURL services and record export options, click the Product Factsheet & Description link provided just below the database name.

Click Feedback link, located at the top left of the screen, to display an online response form. Use this form to send your feedback regarding BiblioLine software and database content, search experience, problems encountered and suggestions for improvement.

Basic Search contains all the basic and essential  features of BiblioLine to help you perform simple searches in an efficient way. However, if you prefer to do complex searches or work in a different, more powerful search environment featuring all search fields, search sets, indexes, thesaurus, and using variety of search operators and techniques in various combinations, then click the BiblioLine Pro link provided at the top left of the screen. BiblioLine Pro offers you a choice of three search levels (Quick, Advanced and Expert) and two display levels (Full Screen and Split Screen).

Database Menu

Click the Database Menu link to view a complete listing of available databases and select either a single database or a group of databases for searching at a time. To select a single database, click on its name. To select a group of databases, select the check boxes adjacent to the databases you wish to search and press the Continue button . To select all databases in one step, click the Search ALL databases link provided at the top of the Database Menu screen. Note: If your institution subscribes to only one database from NISC, the Database Menu link does not appear.

Click the Logout link, provided at the top right of the screen,  to leave BiblioLine. This method of exit is important since it is the only way the BiblioLine server is informed to provide access to others who may be waiting. Do not simply close the browser.

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Step 1 : Formulate & Submit a Search Strategy

Command Menu

To open the Search page, click the Search tab at the top of the screen. The Command Menu, located on the right of the Search page, is a guide to various sections of BiblioLine. Click on the buttons provided in it to explore the different areas of functionality within BiblioLine.

The Command Menu consists of the following buttons:

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You can limit subject / general searches to only titles or index terms of the documents. Choose one of the following options: 

Title : Helps you to limit your subject / general search to the titles of the documents only, that is, retrieves only those records which contain the search term(s) in their title.

Index Terms: Enables you to limit your subject / general search to the index terms assigned to the documents, that is, retrieves only those records which contain the search term(s) specified by you in their index terms field.

The total number of records that are being searched is displayed at the bottom of the Search page.

Example

Searching 116,108 records.

b)  Specific (limit) Search Fields

The Specific (limit) search fields provided in Basic Search may include fields such as:  Author, Publication Year, Publication Type, Publication City and Language. These search fields may vary from database to database.

i)   Author

Use this search field to retrieve records by author, co-author, editor or institutional author. (NOTE: Institution names are not included for databases which have a separate "Institutional Author" search field.) The name of the person, institution, organisation or corporation responsible for writing the document is indexed in this field. You can search by just the surname ("last" name), or use the Index of names to help identify an author and insert the complete name.

You may enter the surname alone or in combination with any initials or other (first or middle) names. Enter the surname first followed by a comma. e.g., Smith, PK 

Some database producers provide the surname and use initials for the other names, other producers spell out all names, some do combinations of both. Also, there are many styles in which initials are provided. BiblioLine's author searching overcomes most of these vagrancies to yield the best results possible. No matter how the database producer has supplied the name, you can always broaden your search by using one or more initials, instead of full names, after the surname. However, if this approach retrieves more than desired, then try spelling out the other names. The more spelled out or complete the entire name, the more specific the results. If you require an exact match to what you have typed, place the name within quotation marks.

Another feature which helps with author searching is the "sounds like" function. If you're not sure how to spell the surname, mark the "sounds like" option. This feature is found beside the author search field with an accompanying check box which is used to turn it on or off. NISC has developed a series of specialised SOUNDEX routines to keep your results within sensible bounds whenever "sounds like" is used.

Use Booleans between surnames when searching for more than one author at a time.

You may truncate names:¹

*  multi-character

?  single character

¹Sounds like functionality is disabled when truncation is used.

²Instead of using ? truncation, if the sounds like option is used with the surname "Sumner", additional authors are retrieved such as: Somner, Simner, Somnier, Simianer, Simonaro, etc., along with Sumer and Summer.

³Most databases provide automatic truncation for the author search field. Consequently, you can type just the surname without having to use a *, i.e., Wolfe * Note: Enclosing a name in quotation marks disables automatic truncation. Therefore, a search of the surname "Wolfe" is likely to yield no results.

Note: The database records retrieved may not always show the author in the citations display format. For instance, the citation may display the name of a book review author whereas the author of the book is shown in the full database record. Author searching is very thorough and includes all possible authors associated with the database record. Some databases have separate search fields for review authors.

Tip: Suppose you retrieve a record showing an author whom you would like to know more about, but the record contains no address or other source data. All is not lost. Run a new search on just the author; chances are good that you will turn up other records, either more recent or from other databases, which do list a source or address for the particular author.

ii)  Publication Year

Publication Year refers to the year in which the source document, article, or other item was issued.

To search for documents published in a specific year, use the first search/text box and specify the publication year in the four-digit format: YYYY. You must mention all four digits of the year, except as you might truncate to substitute for one or more digits.

For searching documents published during a range of years, specify the beginning year in the first search/text box and the ending year in the second box.

Use truncation (* or ?) and/or range operators (<, >, <= and >=) to specify a group of publication years.

Note: Searching by a Publication Year automatically excludes records for which no year was given in the data. Occasionally, the Publication Year is unavailable for some records. (In some databases, BiblioLine has deduced the year from the volume number or other information.)

iii)  Publication Type

Use the Publication Type search field to retrieve records by the type of publication such as abstract, bibliography, book, book chapter, book review, CD-ROM, conference paper, directory, DVD review, editorial, film, government document, journal article, journal article (online), manual, monograph, newsletter, pamphlet, patent, periodical, report, review, thesis/dissertation and website. Click the Publication Type drop box to browse through all the available publication types. To select any publication type, click on its name.

iv)  Publication City

Use the Publication City search field to retrieve records by the city of publication of the source document. To search for documents published in a particular city, type the name of the city in the search box.

v)  Language

The Language search field lists the language of the original document as well as any languages in which the document has been published subsequently. Use this field to search for documents in a particular language. To browse through the list of available languages, click the Languages drop box and choose the language you prefer by clicking on its name.

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Search Logic between Specific (limit) Search Fields

The Boolean operator and connects all of the Specific (limit) Search Fields  to one another. Although this Boolean operator is not visible on the screen, whenever you perform a search in the Basic Search using more than one search field, the search is done as if the Boolean operator and  is present between the search fields. For instance, when you type "Davidson" in the author field, "2002" in the publication year  field and click the Search button, logically the search is treated as:

Davidson and 2002

The above search will retrieve records relating to the works written by Davidson in the year 2002.

In simple terms, the Boolean operator and operates between all search fields although it is invisible. However, you change this search logic through use of the Boolean not. For example, when you type "Smith" in the Author search field, "not New Delhi" in the Publication City search field and click the Search button, logically the search is treated as:

Smith not New Delhi

This search would retrieve records pertaining to the works written by Smith but not published in New Delhi.

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Performing a Search

Searches can be general, using only the Subject / General search field, or narrowed through use of one or more of the other Specific (limit) search fields such as Author, Publication Year or range, Publication Type, Publication City and Language. As already stated, the default search logic between the various search fields in Basic Search is and. That is, the Boolean operator and connects and operates between the search fields although it is not seen on the screen. Remember, however, the more search fields used, the fewer the search results since the records retrieved must meet all the search criteria specified.

To begin your search, just type in words or phrases in one or more of the fields provided. Connect words or phrases with search operators including Boolean operators (and, or, not), truncation (*, ?), range (>, <, >=, <=, to, thru), proximity (nearX and adjX). These search techniques can be used  to exclude unwanted records as well as retrieve intended, meaningful records. Use parenthesis (    ) to group search terms and direct the order of their processing according to your search needs. Then,  click the Search button to start the search. The results appear instantaneously on the Results page in the form of citations.

Click the view Database Record link provided at the end of each citation to view its full record.

Apart from the standard view Database Record link, BiblioLine has many other specialised types of links to the Full Record format.  If the database record itself has links to other information, you are informed of the same. Click here to know about the various specialised links provided by BiblioLine to help you surf  via links to quality information at every click!

If the database record provides links to OpenURL services such as LinkFinder Plus, SFX and 1-Cate, then you will find an OpenURL Links drop box at the end of the citation. Click this drop box to select the service provider of your choice.

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Editing Your Search Strategy

You may edit your search strategy in any search field at any time. Click into any of the search field boxes and insert new search terms and operators or delete/change existing search terms or operators as needed to define a strategy. Next, click the button to re-run your search. The results of your new search are displayed instantaneously on the Results page.

To clear criteria in all search fields in one step, click the clear search link provided below the Search button . Then, click into any search field and type your new search strategy.

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Step 2 : Display Search Results

Record Count

When you perform a search by clicking the Search button , the results are displayed instantaneously on the Results page in the form of Citations. The results appear in descending chronological order by the year of publication with the latest records listed first. You will find 30 records displayed on a page. The new records added to the database since the last update are indicated with the New icon . At the top of the Results page are a series of numbers representing the range of record numbers displayed, the total number of records retrieved in the search performed and the number of records marked.

Examples:

Records 1 to 30 of 78,926 (Citations) (0 marked)

This record count status line indicates that you are currently viewing record numbers 1 through 30 out of a total of 78,926 records with none currently marked.

Records 31 to 60 of 78,926 (Citations) (show 2 marked)

This record count status line shows that your are currently viewing record numbers 31 through 60 out of a total of 78,926 records with two records marked. To view only the marked records, click the 2 marked link.

In addition, in some databases BiblioLine also indicates at the top of the Results page the number of new records added to the database since the last two updates.

Example:

Click the  new record count button  to view only the new records added after that particular update.

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Choose the display format you need from the select Display Format drop box, provided both at the top and bottom of the Results page. This feature may be used to navigate between display formats or between marked and un-marked records within of a display format (i.e. all Full Records, Marked Full Records).  Please see the Marking Records for help on how to mark records. The default display format for most products is: display: all Citations.

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Relevance Ranking

Relevance Ranking indicates how many search terms are found in that database record and/or associated journal article (if displayed by BiblioLine). To display relevance ranking details, select the 'yes' radio button from the Rank by Relevance option provided at the top left of the search screen.

The "hits" count appears in red at the end of each citation.

Once you have set relevance ranking to 'yes' , the results of successive searches are displayed by relevance as long as you do not switch search modes or change databases. To turn off Relevance Ranking details, select the 'no' radio button. This is BiblioLine's default display order and in this the records are displayed in descending chronological sequence-- the most recently published literature being displayed first.

Sometimes you may notice that the "hits" count of a preceding record is less than the following record. Such a record, nonetheless, is judged to be more relevant despite the fact that overall search term usage happens to be less (than in the following record). This is because BiblioLine uses a complex set of algorithms based on several parameters to determine the most relevant records rather than a simplistic mechanical count of the number of times a search term appears in a particular database record. The parameters used by BiblioLine include, among others, the following:

1)  the overall frequency of search word (or phrase) usage in record text or full-text
2)  the location of search words: for instance, usage in titles or index terms receives priority
3)  the importance of the search words: for example, "ANDed" words are usually more important than "ORed" words
4)  the kind of product: full-text products are weighted differently than bibliographic & abstract products

Thus, using BiblioLine's relevance ranking option, you can be sure of retrieving the most relevant records on the fly.

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Sorting Records

To sort records, click the select Sort Field drop box provided at the top right of the Results page and select the sort type required.

Records are displayed in descending chronological order (publication year) by default. The most recent title is first; records with no Publication Year are at the end. Sort fields may include fields such as Title, Author, Database, Journal, and Publication Year. Options are available for sorting in both ascending (a-z, 0-9) and descending (z-a, 9-0) order.

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Marking Records

To mark any record, click the check box adjacent to it.

Some database products include links that help you to view only the marked records or the new records added since the previous update. Click on the marked link in the record count status line at the top of the results display to view only the marked records. To return to all records, click the Total Results link.

Examples:

Records 1 to 20 of 661 (Citations) (show 2 marked)

1 to 2 of 2 Marked Records (Citations) (show 661 Total Results)

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Surfing via Links to Quality Information at Every Click!

NISC’s database records carry active links to a variety of value added services both inside and outside your library such as:

• websites directly related to the database record for its full-text, publisher, author, institution, or the e-journal’s table of contents, fully searchable
  documents cited in the database record.
  
• library holdings information.

• the document itself or to websites which provide full text free of cost.

• commercial vendors such as BioOne, Blackwell Synergy, EBSCOhost Electronic Journals Service, HighWire, IDEAL, Ingenta, JSTOR, Project MUSE, PsycARTICLES, Springer-Verlag, SwetsWise, who offer fee-based full-text services.

• OpenURL services such as LinkFinder Plus, SFX, and 1-Cate which in turn access the full-text vendor, your library catalogue, OPACs or other interlibrary loan services.

Significant texts in electronic/digital format are comprehensively scanned and stored to help you search by any word or phrase contained in the article or document itself.

Viewing Links

After typing your search criteria in the search fields, press the Enter key or click the Search button to start a search. The results of your search are displayed instantaneously in the form of citations in the results frame below. At the end of each citation, you will find a view Database Record  link. Click this link to view the full record of the document. If the database record provides links to OpenURL services such as LinkFinder Plus, SFX and 1-Cate, then you may also find an OpenURL Links drop box at the end of the citation. Click this drop box to browse through the various OpenURL service providers and select the one you prefer.

Types of Links

Apart from the standard view Database Record link and Open URL links, BiblioLine has many other specialised types of links to the Full Record format.  If the database record itself has links to other information, you are informed of the following possibilities:

view Database Record with link to Full Text [searched]

view Database Record with link to Review [searched]

view Database Record with Full-Text Link

view Database Record with link to Review

These links lead to carefully selected free full text on the Internet or full text which is provided as part of your BiblioLine subscription. A different type of linking is provided for accessing full text subscribed through commercial publishers or vendors.

view Database Record with DOI Link

DOI means Digital Object Identifier

view Database Record with Website Link

This type of link usually leads to an important website, carefully chosen by NISC for its information value, which is summarized or reviewed in the database record.

view Database Record with Full Text

view Database Record with Review

The Full Text or Review itself is found in the database record.

view Database Record with link to Document Order Form

go to Full Text [SwetsWise]

This link takes you to a commercial full-text supplier. In this case, the commercial vendor is SwetsWise.



This drop box appears in the database record if the full-text is available from more than one vendor. Click the drop box to view a list of links to commercial vendors of full-text.

view Database Record with link to More Info.

One or more links are provided to useful, supplemental information which has an important bearing on the topic of the record.

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Step 3 : Output Search Results

BiblioLine offers you a choice of four options for outputting your search results: Email, Export to database, Save as text, Print

All or Marked

Choose whether you would like to export or save or print all the records found in your search or only the records which you have marked. Select one of these options:

All: Allows you to export or save or print all the records found by your search, subject to a maximum number of 500. That is, you can export or save or print only the first 500 records (1-500) of your search at a time. Note: This option is not available for emailing your records. For emailing, you need to mark (select) the records you want to email by clicking the check box provided adjacent to each record.

Marked: Enables you to email or export or save or print only the records which you have marked.

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Exit BiblioLine

Click the Logout link to exit BiblioLine. Exiting BiblioLine properly gives others, who may be waiting, access to databases sooner. Please do not simply close the browser.

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