Power
Tools
Here at Sweet Briar College, we have access to very powerful internet technologies that bring ease & efficiency to your research and teaching. We call them Library Power Tools. Our “power tools” are:
- Boolean search techniques
- Library Guides andMoving Between Databases
- WorldCatIlliad
- RefWorks
ONE: Boolean Search Techniques –
By using Boolean Logic – Named for George Boole, the famed British mathematician, Boolean logic governs most computer database searches. Using it will make your searches more accurate and effective.
Boolean logic offers three searching options:
1. AND
2. NOT
3. OR
AND is the most frequently used option. A search using AND will look like this:
poverty crime
You do not have to type the word “AND.” Just put two or more words together in a row and the computer will assume that the word AND has been typed between them.
This sequence tells the computer, “I want all the articles in this database that include both of these words somewhere in them.”
Grey area indicates articles that include both words.
NOT is the second most useful option offered by Boolean logic. What if you needed a recipe to cook for a guest who was lactose intolerant? A search using NOT could help you:
potatoes recipe -cheese
This sequence tells the computer, “I want all the articles in this database about potatoes, but I don’t want any of these pages to mention cheese.”
Let’s take it further:
potatoes recipe –cheese –milk –cream -butter
This search should EXCLUDE results with any of the dairy items listed following a minus sign!
Let’s do a combination of AND, NOT and “phrase searching”:
potatoes recipe –cheese –milk –cream –butter –“joy of cooking”
OR is less frequently used. A search using OR will look like this:
“E.A. Poe” OR “Edgar Allen Poe” OR “Edgar Allan Poe”
You use the OR option when you are not sure how to spell the topic you want or when the topic of interest has more than one name. For example, NOW OR “National Organization for Women.” This sequence illustrated below tells the computer, “I want all the articles in this database that include either of these words somewhere in them.” In other words, some of the articles can say “E.A. Poe” without “Edgar Allen Poe” and some can say “Edgar Allan Poe” without either of the other options.
AND - In general, remember that a search using AND will give you fewer, more focused results.The more terms you combine in an AND or NOT search,
the fewer records you will retrieve.
NOT - Searching with NOT can refine your hits – giving you very specific results.
“talkative cats” NOTsiamese not persian
OR – Use OR to find records for a topic that has more than one name.
SOL OR “standards of learning”
Phrase Searching - Sometimes it’s helpful to find two or more words in an exact order. Searching for phrases allows you to find your search words in the exact order you need.
For example, the Boolean search:
Planting corn
will get records with both words, somewhere on every record it finds, BUT the two words may not be together. To find pages about “planting corn,” use a phrase search by grouping these words in quotation marks:
“planting corn” - Now the search engine will find ONLY records that have these two words together, in the exact order shown.
See if you can find on-line competitions which give away a vehicle as the grand prize. Try these search phrases:
“win a Toyota”
“win a Mazda”
“win a Subaru”
“win a Volvo”
Phrase searching is very useful when you need to find official information about an organization. For example, this Boolean search,
National Rifle Association,
might find pages about the NRA, but if you use a phrase search, you will find pages that are ONLY about the NRA - and nothing else. Group two or more words in quotation marks for a fast, effective phrase search:
“National Rifle Association”
Phrase searching allows you to find poems, lyrics, and speeches. Just group a few memorable words together in quotation marks:
“while I pondered weak”
“sugar magnolia blossoms”
“thank God almighty I’m free”
Phrase searches are used to find two or more words in exact order
TWO: Library Guides and Moving Between Databases –
The Library Guide page is your starting place for discipline specific research. This section includes an overview of the Guides and a demonstration of moving between databases to maximize your research efficiency.
THREE: WorldCatIlliad –
Here we talk about using WorldCat instead of LION to find books. We examine how WorldCat and Illiad work together for quick Interlibrary Loan requests.This section includes a link to the FireFoxWorldCat plug-in:
FOUR: RefWorks –
RefWorks is a database that organizes your "works cited" to create quick bibliographies for your papers. It allows you to change your entire bibliography from APA to MLA style (or many other styles) in a snap, without fussing with formats or punctuation.
Just go to
The first time you go there you will "Sign up for an individual account."
Adding New Citations
Click on the References tab in the upper left corner of the screen. On the pull-down menu tool bar choose "Add New." On the following screen, start by selecting your preferred bibliographic style which is labeled “Viewfields used by:” (e.g. APA, Chicago, MLA, etc.) Then you should select your “Ref Type.” This mean you have to skip the menu that allows you to select the folder, for a moment. When you select “Ref Type” the screen will refresh. You may also designate which folder will hold this citation by using the second pull-down menu.
You must enter the names of authors in this format: Crabtree, Adam
You should enter titles with the first letter of the first world capitalized. Other words can be in lower case.
Also, be aware that you should NOT do ANY formatting of the names, titles, dates, etc. that you type into RefWorks. That is, DO NOT underline, add quotation marks, or make anything bold. RefWorks will do all of that for you!
Click "Save Reference" when finished.To add another Reference, go back to the upper left to References -> Add New Reference and a fresh form will load. Or use the “Save and add new” button at the bottom of the form. If you do not work from a fresh form by clicking Add New Reference, you will lose the last reference you entered because it will be overwritten. Always go to Add New Reference, to begin a new citation!
To Create a New Folder
Click onNew Folder in the upper left of the screen. Type a name for the new folder in the space provided, and click the button labeled “create.” RefWorks also gives you the option to create sub-folders.
Importing Citations From Databases
Always have RefWorks open and logged into your account in a separate window from the one you are using for your database research!
Project Muse – Do not use FireFox with this database!Allows you to select all on page or you can check selected citations. Then click the button that reads “Save Marked Results.” When you have saved all the citations you want from Project Muse, find the button on the top menu bar that reads, Email/Export Saved Results. The next screen will give you the option to Export marked results to:. Click the RefWorks radio button and then click Export. If you have RefWorks already open in another window, the citations will auto-load to RefWorks.
JSTOR – Allows you to save all citations on a particular page or individually via the Save Citation button below each entry. To export citations to RefWorks, click on “View Saved Citations.” You will see a red line about a third the way down the page. Just below that line find the words Export Citations. Set the first pull-down menu to “as a Text File.” Set the second pull-down menu to “Citation Manager Format”. Click Export. Then go over to your RefWorks window and select References -> Import. Set Import Filter/Data Source to JSTOR. The radio button which reads “Import Data from the following Text File” will be highlighted. Browse to the file you exported from JSTOR. Then click the Import button at the bottom of the screen. The JSTOR citations will be imported to RefWorks.
Expanded Academic – You may save Selected or All References on a page. After you have marked all the records you want, find the blue bar on the left and click View Mark List. Scroll to the bottom of the next page. Be sure Citation is highlighted in Browser Print and E-Mail Delivery. Add your email address and click Submit E-mail Request.
Then open your email. Paint or highlight only the items preceded by a two-letter code. In other words, copy only the delimited list. (The first item on the page may begin with AA. Begin your highlight with the first A of AA. The last item on the page may begin with ZZ. Be sure to include any information that is after ZZ!) As usual, RefWorks should already be open in a second window. Click to the RefWorks window and go to References -> Import. Set the Import Filter/Data Source to Gale Infotrac Web. Click the radio button next to the words, “Import Data from the Following Text.” Paste your text into the large space just below the words “Import data from the following text,” and above the Import button. Then click the import button.
FirstSearch – ONLY works in Explorer!You must also have RefWorks open in a second window of Explorer and you must be logged in before you begin exporting citations., If you have a pop-up blocker on your favorite browser, add to the pop-up blocker’s list of approved sites. FirstSearch allows you to save all citations on a particular page or individual citations via marking selected check boxes on the left margin. To export, click the Export button at the bottom of the screen. Select Records 1-10 or Marked Records on the following screen. Be sure to export to RefWorks by selecting the radio button next to the word RefWorks. Then click the Export button. If you have a second window open with your RefWorks account open, your references will begin importing automatically. If you own an Apple computer without Explorer on it, you will probably have to borrow a campus PC to Import citations to your RefWorks account.
Cambridge Scientific Abstracts – First, if you have a pop-up blocker on your favorite browser, add and to the pop-up blocker’s list of approved sites. Then, in Cambridge Scientific you may mark all on page with the click of a link on the upper left of the yellow tab, or you may check selected boxes by each entry, and click Update Marked List, located in the center of the yellow tab. Once your record selection is complete, you may view all of your marked records by choosing N Marked Records located above the words “Help and Support” on the right side of the screen, where N represents the number of records you have marked. Click N Marked Records.On the next page, click Export to RefWorks. A RefWorks window will pop-up, showing the number of item you just imported.
WilsonWeb – First, if you have a pop-up blocker on your favorite browser, add and to the pop-up blocker’s list of approved sites. Then, in WilsonWeb, check the boxes beside the citations you wish to save. When you are finished, click the Print Email Save button on the left menu bar. Set the radio button to indicate which of your records you want to save. Then see Download Records Into. Set it to RefWorks' Direct Export Tool. If you want WilsonWeb to unmark the records you have used, select yes beside Clear the marked set after the export? Then click the Export button. If RefWorks is already open in another window, the records will auto-load to RefWorks.
Moving Items into a Folder
From a list of your citations you can work with a few selected ones or all on a page. To move references into a folder of your choice, place check marks in the boxes to the left of the citations you want to move (or select the “Page” radio button at the top to move everything on a page). Then click on the folder icon on the top menu bar. When your pointer touches the folder icon a list of your folders will pop-up. Just scroll down and click on the folder you want to use for the citations you selected.
Creating a Bibliography
Then click on the Bibliography button at the top of the screen.
Make sure the correct Output Style is selected.“File type” should be set to Word for Windows or Word for Mac, according to the system you are using. In “References to include” select the folder that holds the citations you want to include. And then click “Create Bibliography” in the lower right part of the screen.
If you need to have references to citations appear in the text of your paper, please call Liz for a one-on-one session with RefWorks (x6315).
Sharing RefWorks Citations
Refworks allows you to show folders of citations to others via read-only permission. To see folders that others have “shared” go to View -> RefWorks Shared Area. A new page will automatically open showing the folders that other SBC faculty and students have shared.
In order to “share”(show) your own folders, skip down the page past the grey menu bar at top, past the row of buttons that begins with “new folder,” past the next grey menu bar, to the area just above the citations where you’ll see two tabs. One is marked “References.” The other is marked “Organize and Share Folders.” Click “Organize and Share Folders.” Look at the far right of the page. An icon of a folder with a green arrow on it means you can click there to share the folder. The system will ask you if you are sure you want to share the folder. When you say “yes” Shared Folder Options will load. There are only 2 things you need to do on that screen.
1. Type in the title of the folder in the blank that is labeled “Title.”
2. Decide if you want to “share” the folder with all of SBC or only a few individuals. If you’d like your folder shared with all of Sweet Briar, simply check “Save” at the bottom of the screen. If you want to share your folder with only one person, copy the URL as shown and email it to them.
Adding Citations to a Group Folder
If you would like your group to be able to build a folder of citations together, you will have to create a new account for the group. The new account will have to be linked to the SBC email of one of the group members. All group members will have to use the same login and password to access the group database. RefWorks requires that all members of the group be members of the Sweet Briar community or that the members have RefWorks available to them at their home institution.
Use RefWorks with Word to Insert Footnotes into the Body of Your Paper
To insert footnotes into the body of your paper, in addition to creating your bibliography, you will use Refworks Write-N-Cite software. Make sure your copy of Microsoft Word IS NOT active, then download the Write-N-Cite software from here (If you are logged into RefWorks you can also click on Tools -> Write-N-Cite):
Open or load the Write-N-Cite software and then open Word. You will notice a Write-N-Cite button on the upper right tool bar in Word. Click on the Write-N-Cite button and a new window will open asking you to log into your RefWorks account. Log into your RefWorks account and all of your references will be available to you with Cite and View options listed in a left column. Go back to your Word window and write your paper as normal. When you need to insert a footnote, put your cursor in the place where you want the footnote to appear. Then click to bring forward the RefWorks Write-N-Cite window. Find the citation you want to add to your paper. Click the word “Cite” to the left of your chosen citation. Then go back to your Word window. You will notice that RefWorks Write-N-Cite added the selected footnote to the place where your cursor was located in your paper.