Monash University Library
Finding journal articles using Search – Accessibility document
Tutorial description
This tutorial demonstrates how to find, save and view peer reviewed journal articles for your research topic using Library Search.
This activity will take approximately 8 minutes.
1.Scenario
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A screen of text describing the scenario used for this tutorial
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Library Search is a great starting point for your research. You can use it to find peer reviewed journal articles and get direct electronic access.
You can also save journal articles and other resources you have discovered onto the e-Shelf for future access.
In this tutorial, we will be searching for peer reviewed journal articles on the topic the advantages of nuclear energy.
Instruction caption
Click CONTINUE to begin
2.Beginning the search
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A screen capture of the Library website home page ( the “Sign in” link is highlighted
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It’s always a good idea to begin your search by signing in.
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Click Sign in (
3.Signning in
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A screen capture of the Monash Unviersity Library sign in page
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Signing in to Search allows you to access additional services such as:
- Placing holds
- Saving records and setting preferences
- Accessing subscribed content
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Click CONTINUE when you are ready.
4.Library Search
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The Library Search home page ( appears after the sign-in process was completed successfully.
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Type the research topic into the search box.
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Click Go or hit Enter on the keyboard to execute the search.
5.Using Library Search
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Search terms [“nuclear energy” advantages] were entered into the seach box and the search was excuded. Double quotation marks were used around the phrase “nuclear energy”.
A list of search results appears.
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Tips:
- Put quotation marks around a few words to search them as a phrase. This is useful for searching a topic.
- Adding another topic keyword will help focus the search.
Instrution caption
Click CONTINUE when you are ready.
6.Key facets explained
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The screen is scrolled down a little. Three facets headings, “Show only”, “Resource type” and “Date” are highlighted.
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Hover the mouse over the highlighted areas to find out more.
Click CONTINUE when you are ready.
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The Resource type facets:
help to narrow the search results down to particular material type(s).
The Show only facets:
help to focus on collections within the results that offer specific type(s) of access.
The Date facets:
help to specify a time range during which the resources were published.
7.Further refinement
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The screen remains the same as before
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As we are required to find peer-reviewed journal articles, some further refinement of the search results is needed.
Instruction caption
Click CONTINUE when you are ready.
8.The Peer-reviewed Journals facet
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The Peer-reviewed Journals facet in the “Show only” group is clicked on. The list of search results is refined accordingly.
9.The Articles facet
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The Articles facet in the “Resource type” group is then clicked on. The list of search results is refined further.
10.Refining search results
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The top section of the results list is highlighted. It contains a summary of the number of records found, refining facets applied and information about how the list is currently ordered.
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The results list now contains only peer-reviewed journal articles.
Note that they are sorted by relevance.
Instruction caption
Click CONTINUE when you are ready.
11.Opening the View It tab
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The View It tab at the bottom of the first record is highlighted.
Instruction caption
Click the View It tab
12.The View It tab explained
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The View It tab expanded, displaying a list of online access options.
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The View It tab lists electronic access options. Sometimes there will be more than one option available.
Instruction caption
Click CONTINUE when you are ready.
13.Adding items to the e-Shelf
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The pale stars to the left of the first three records are clicked and become orange ones.
The e-Shelf link at the top right hand corner of the screen (above the search box and the results list) is then highlighted.
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Click the pale star on the left of each record to save that item to the e-Shelf.
14.Checking the e-Shelf
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The previously highlighted e-Shelf link was clicked on and the e-Shelf page is displayed. By default the first item on the e-Shelf is highlighted.
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As long as you are logged in when you save them, items will stay on your e-Shelf until you delete them
Instruction caption
Click CONTINUE when you are ready.
15.Accessing saved electronic resources
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The page is scrolled down until details of the highlighted record is displayed. By default, content of the Details tab is showing.
The View It tab is highlighted.
Instruction caption
Click the View It tab
16.Accessing the View It tab from the e-Shelf
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The content of the View It tab is displayed, containing the same list of online access options as before when the record was viewed as part of the results list.
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Items saved on your e-Shelf can be accessed through the View it tab in the same way as any record you find in Search.
For more information about performing better searches, try the Developing a search strategy online tutorial (
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Click CONTINUE when you are ready.
17.More information
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The end of the tutorial. Further information and recources
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We hope that you found this activity useful.
For further information on library resources try the following links:
- Library home page:
- Databases:
- Library Search help:
- Ask.monash:
Visit the library information point for further advice.
Monash University, Clayton Campus, Wellington Road, Clayton, Victoria, 3800, Australia
Telephone +61 3 9902 6000 Facsimile +61 3 9905 4007
monash.edu/library
File name: topic-search-alma.doc1