WHY USE FIRSTSEARCH?

There are 59 general and subject-specific databases in FirstSearch. Many database have full-text articles that may be viewed, printed or e-mailed. All full-text articles are ONLY TEXT. No images are included. Use this source to find full-text articles, citations, and library items all over the world in academic and popular publicationa.

TO ACCESS FROM HOME:

1. Go to Brighton District Library's home page (http://brightonlibrary.info)
2. Click on Full-text Articles
3. Click on Brighton District Library (or where your library card is from) and then click on GO
4. Click on Access FirstSearch
5. Enter your library card number, WITH NO SPACES, in the box and click on enter.

TO ACCESS FROM THE BRIGHTON DISTRICT LIBRARY:

1. Click on Magazine Indexes
2. Click on FirstSearch

SEARCHING A FIRSTSEARCH DATABASE:

From the First Screen

1. The first screen of FirstSearch allows you to do a Basic Search by typing your search terms in the Search for: dialog box. This screen inially allows you to do a keyword search but you may later select author or title search.
• You may use boolean operators and, or, and not. You may also use parenthesis to group items together.

  TO FIND: all articles mentioning the terms common cold and natural	USE: common cold and natural
  TO FIND: all articles mentioning the terms common cold and natural but not herb	USE: common cold and natural not herb
  TO FIND: all articles mentioning the terms common cold and either natural or herb	USE: common cold and (natural or herb)

  
  
• You may add additional terms to your searches by using a * sign. This is called truncation.
  

  TO FIND: all articles mentioning the terms common cold and herb or herbs or herbal

  USE: common cold and herb*

  
  
• Advanced Techniques - Wildcards are used to represent from zero to nine additional characters in the middle of a search term. A # sign represents a single character. A ? represents up to 9 characters. Include a number if you know the maximum number of characters the wildcard will replace.
  

  TO FIND: articles containing woman and women	USE: wom#n
  TO FIND: all articles containing color, colour, colonizer, and colorimeter	USE: colo?r
  TO FIND: all articles containing color, colour, but not colonizer or colorimeter	USE: colo?1r

  
  
2. Select either a Topic or a Database from the drop-down list by single clicking the scroll arrow.
   • If you do not know which database to use, you may select a topic area to have FirstSearch scan all the available databases. The results report the estimated number of matches in each database on the screen. You can then select up to 3 databases to complete your search.
   • If you know which database you want to search, select that database, and a list of records that match your search will be displayed.
   • If you do not select a topic or a database, but type search terms in the Search for: dialog box, FirstSearch will search in the General topic area.
3. You will then receive another screen asking which kind of search you are doing: keyword, title, or author. In most cases you will be doing a keyword search. You may also choose whether you want hits ranked by date or relevance.
4. You may limit or expand your search by clicking on the appropriate buttons at the top or the screen.

From the Advanced Search Option

1. To conduct a more advanced search you must first choose a database.
2. All searching options above still apply. There are other options to limit searches depending on which database you're in. Look at the help screen for database-specific search options.

ONCE YOU ARE LOOKING AT A LIST OF ARTICLES:

1. Click on hyperlinked article title to see entire record (abstract, subject-headings, citation, link to full-text, and libraries that own this journal). You may mark this record, e-mail or print.
2. Click on View HTML full-text to go right to the entire article. Again, you may mark, e-mail or print the article. NO IMAGES ARE INCLUDED WITH FIRSTSEARCH ARTICLES.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON SPECIFIC DATABASES:

1. Click on "Databases >List All" on the left-hand sidebar to see a list of all the databases. Especially note the full-text databases with icon .
2. To see more detailed information on the database (when coverage starts, which magazines/journals are indexed, specific topics covered, etc., click on the .