• To Start
• To Search for Free Text
• To Search Directly from the Index
• To Search the Thesaurus
• Truncation
• To Limit
• To Combine Sets
• To Display Records
• To Mark Records
• To Print Records
• To Exit

SilverPlatter Software Search Techniques

The EconLit, GPO Monthly Catalog, MLA Bibliography, PAIS International, and PsycLit CDROMs use the SilverPlatter software. For more detailed searching, consult the database documentation at each station, press 1 HELP or contact the Library Information Desk.

To Start

Define your search by identifying the important words and related terms for each concept. For example, to find records about Environmental Protection Policies, identify the key concepts for the topic, in this case environment, protection, and policy.

To Search for Free Text

• Press 2 to display the Find prompt.

• Search for the first concept by typing ENVIRONMENT* R

• Search for the second concept by typing AND POLIC* R

(Beginning a search with the boolean operator AND automatically combines the results with the previous search set.)

• Continue this process until all of the concepts have been searched.

To Search Directly from the Index

• Press 5 to display the Index prompt.

• Type ENVIRONMENT R . The Index will be displayed at the point in the alphabet where your word occurs.

• Press the down arrow to move the cursor to the first term to search.

• Press S to select the term. Repeat the last two steps until all of the relevant terms have been selected.

• Press F to search for records containing any of the selected terms.

To Search the Thesaurus

Use the online Thesaurus to find a synonym or a more precise term for your search. With the Thesaurus you can make your search narrower or broader by identifying other aspects of your search term.

• Press 9 to display the Thesaurus prompt.

• Type ENVIRONMENT R to display the List of Permuted Terms.

• Use the arrow keys to move to the desired term.

• Press S to select the term. Repeat the last two steps as above until all of the relevant terms have been selected.

• Press T to see the Term Details for the term at the cursor. Term Details may include scope notes, used for notes, and related terms.

Truncation

Truncate a root word or term with an asterisk or question mark to retrieve variants.

An asterisk (*) at the end of a word searches any number of characters.

A question mark (?) at the end or within a word searches for one character.

Example:STAT* will find state, states, but also retrieves statement, statutes, etc. WOM?N will find women or woman. Think about the possible occurrences before using truncation.

To Limit

To narrow your search, you can search in the limit fields using either IN or an equal sign (=). Check database documentation for specific fields.

Example:1990 in PY or PY=1990

Other operators for numeric fields: py<1990 (less than), py>1990 (greater than), <= (less than/equal to), >= (greater than/equal to), 19901994 (date range).

To Combine Sets

Any number of previous search sets can be combined using Boolean operators.

• Press 2 to display the Find prompt.

• Type the set numbers to combine.

Examples:#1 AND #5 will find all records containing both terms.

#1 OR #5 will find all records containing one or both terms.

To Display Records

The last search set on the screen will be displayed. (To view a previous set type a hash mark and the set number (#3).)

• Press 4 SHOW to display (SHOW) the records.

To Mark Records

Records can be marked for printing. While viewing a record, place the cursor within the record.

• Press R (Record will be marked with asterisks.)

• Press R to unmark a record.

To Print Records

• Press 6 to display Print menu.

• Press R to begin printing.

To Exit

• Press the E key until the Main Menu appears.
• Press Q to Quit.