COMM 290: Communication Problems and Research

• A standard search will retrieve information containing all of the keywords.
  • Example: Peshtigo fire will retrieve materials that include both keywords.
• Searching a person's name will retrieve information BY and ABOUT the person.
  • Example: Isabel Allende
• Use quotation marks to search exact phrases.
  • Example: "data mining"
• Use an asterisk(*) for truncation searching.
  • Example: organic farm* will retrieve: organic farm, organic farms, organic farmers, organic farming, etc.

PsycInfo defaults to a simple search bar when first entering the database. There are a couple of ways to refine your search: 

1. Enter your keywords. Use quotation marks to search for an exact phrase. 
2. Click the Peer Reviewed button to narrow your results to articles that have undergone a review process. 
3. Make your search include only recently published materials by clicking the All time drop-down and selecting one of the time frames provided.

You may notice the option to turn on Natural Language Search under the search bar. This feature utilizes AI to parse apart your question into what keywords it believes are within your question. This is best used for simple searches, and advanced search remains the best way to complete more advanced searching. 

On the search results screen, click the title of an article to view more details about the item. After clicking, you will see some basic information at the top of the screen, like what journal it was published in and a list of authors. The abstract of the article appears by scrolling about halfway down the page.

To view or download the article, click on the Access options drop-down menu and select one of the options. The download icon above the title does not download the article and only downloads the information about the article.

There will be several options to access the article. Here is what to expect for each option: 

• Find Full Text: This will open a new window to find the article within one of the library's resources. If it is not available, you will be directed to a Search@UW record page, where you can request a copy of the article. 
• Instant PDF: This will open a new window and automatically display or download the PDF of the article. Here is where you can save the article to your computer.
• PDF: This will open the PDF within the EBSCO platform. You can download the article, or navigate back to the article's record page. 
• Online full text: This option will open an HTML version of the article within the EBSCO platform. Though it appears similar to the PDF, this version will not have page numbers. 
• View complete issue: Use this option if you would like to see the contents of the entire journal that the article is published in. It will not take you to the article.