Searching an Online Catalog: Dissertation Research Tips
To make a complete use of the resources a library offers, one must be aware of the systems by which the books, journals and magazines available in the library can be easily accessed, both on site and online. Libraries hold a catalog of holdings that specify the resources maintained by them. This makes the location of the required dissertation research material easy. However there are different ways to obtain a work by using the catalog.
There is no standard system for accessing online catalog, every library might their own searching strategies. There are however some common methods, a knowledge of which can be useful in obtaining a dissertation resource material without wasting a lot of time.
Author Searches: If you know the author of the text, you may opt for an author search. If you enter an author’s full name, the screen displays all the works written by the author. When conducting author searches, make sure you type complete name and know at least one work by that author. Sometimes, there are two or more author’s with a similar name, in that case consider other searches as well.
Title Searches: It is a broader search which will include all the tentative dissertation tirles in the search results containing the title. The search might include all the resource materials, like books, journals, interviews etc on a similar topic. Title search is helpful in the first research phases, when you have decide a dissertation topic or write a literature review.
Subject heading searches: A more broader search, it includes all the works on a particular subject or field. If you haven’t yet decided on the author and the title for your dissertation or essay assignment, it is beneficial to go for subject searches. With further reference you may go on to narrow your topic by using the sub headings.
Call Number Searches: This is suitable when looking out for a particular work for reference. You may have the work cited in your dissertation and need to refer it for authentication or cross reference, in cases here you have the details of the books because it was issued before, go for a call number search. This will provide you the exact book you are looking for.
Keyword Searches: Keyword searches are case sensitive searches that are conducted irrespective of the texts location in the library. You can call for a list of all the works that have within their title the required keyword. Such a search is wider in scope and is best suited for the initial stages of dissertation research.
Boolean Searches: Boolean searches are the ones that are mostly used by the popular search engines like google, yahoo and others. A Boolean search consider the operators ‘and’, ‘or’, and ‘not’ inserted in between the keywords to narrow down search results. For example if you are looking for a reflective essay that is personal, your Boolean search will be “Reflective essay and Personal”
Advanced Searches: Some libraries allow you to search the archives of the journals and ,magazines and conduct search on the basis of the time, when an article was published. This is very useful in conducting dissertation research if you wish to refer an article of which you have the details.
