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Searching the Database [ Top ]

• Keyword Search
  • The Database can be searched by keywords from one or all of the following fields.
    • author
    • title
    • subject
    • abstract
  
  
  
• To begin the search
  • Type in search term(s) in the search box
  • Specify search field by clicking on one of the radio buttons beneath the search box
  • The default, "Anywhere" provides searches for keywords across the searchable fields, covering:
    • author
    • title
    • subject
    • abstract
  • To run the search
    • Click the search button at the bottom of the screen
  
  
  
• Phrase Search
  • e.g. high rise building returns documents containing "high rise building" as a phrase
  
  
  
• Boolean Search
  • search terms can be combined using Boolean operators as follows:
  • use AND to narrow your search
  • e.g. property AND China
  • returns documents containing both search terms
    
    
  • use OR to broaden your search by including alternative terms
  • e.g. building or property
  • returns documents containing either or both search terms
    
    
  • use AND NOT to exclude from search results the search term(s) following AND NOT
  • e.g. motor AND NOT cycle
  • returns documents containing "motor" but not "cycle"
    
    
  • use Parentheses to produce more specific queries
  • e.g. China AND (building or property)
  • returns documents containing "China" within the records sets containing either "building" or "property"
  
  
  
• Truncation
  • type in the asterisk (*) as a wildcard to retrieve variations of the search terms
  • e.g. Searching on econ* produces search sets including "economy", "economics", and/or economist", etc.
  
  
  
• Case Sensitivity
  • The Database is not case-sensitive, so you can type your search terms in uppercase or lowercase.

Refining search results [ Top ]

• Search results can be refined to contain records that match the following criteria:
  • Year
  • Degree
  • Department
  • Language
  
  
  
• To refine search results:
  • On the drop-down list for each of the above criteria e.g. Language
  • select an entry e.g. Chinese
  • The default, "All" provides searches across all records

Sorting search results [ Top ]

• Search results can be sort by
  • Author
  • Title
  • Year
  • Department
  
  
  
• To specify the sorting criteria
  • Select an entry on the drop-down list of sorting criteria
  • The default, "Author" provides sorting in alphabetical order by author names

Displaying search results [ Top ]

• Brief record display from initial search
  • The result screen displays brief records covering:
    • author
    • title
    • department
    • degree
    • year
  
  
  
• Display of full citations with abstracts
  • On the brief record display, click on the citation button of specific record(s) to display more details on the record
  
  
  
• Display of full-text image
  • On the brief record display, click on the full-text button of specific record to display the full-text image of the record, or
  • On the full display with abstracts, click on the full-text button of specific record to display the full-text image of the record
  • The full-text images are available in Adobe Acrobat format
  
  
  
• Export of search result sets:
  • On the brief record display, click on the export button of specific record(s) for printing, downloading, and emailing of search result sets

Linking with the Library catalogue [ Top ]

• All theses/dissertations are catalogued and have an entry in the Library Catalogue.
• Click on the Library link button on full citation display to view the bibliographic descriptions of selected records

Printing, downloading and Emailing search results [ Top ]

• Your attention is drawn to the copyright regulations regarding use of the Database, specifically on the following:
  • Print:
    • Use the Print icon on the Adobe Acrobat Reader tool bar
  • Download:
    • Use the Download button on the top of the screen
  • Email:
    • Use the email button on the top of the screen