Using FirstSearch in Biology
FirstSearch is a collection of databases available via telnet
connection to OCLC. A number of them are of importance in Biology,
including
- BIOSIS
- MEDLINE
- AGRICOLA
- BioDigest
- BiolAgr Index
- CINAHL
- General Science Index
You access the FirstSearch databases via the Commercial Databases
item on the Liberty menu (2), then the 'FirstSearch databases' choice
(1), and thence via a scripted login that sends
a password to FirstSearch. Once connected, you can choose a database,
make searches, and have the results e-mailed to you. You can then
print out and/or export the e-mailed results (which can then be Fetched
or RapidFiled so that you can edit them further).
We'll go through these steps carefully, since for most people the
FirstSearch databases are the best available entree to the journal
literature where you'll find the pointers to primary research
material you'll need for your bibliography. Once again we have
- a mechanical task of learning to use the searching and delivery
software,
- a 'wetware' task of figuring out how to conceptualize your search
and interpret its results, and
- the organizational task of figuring out how to search your
topic sensibly and efficiently.
Some basics common to all FirstSearch databases:
- The most basic 'keyword' search starts with su: (e.g.:
su:cheetah or su:fetal tissue transplantation)
- There is no wildcard character (like * in ANNIE), but you CAN search
for an -s suffix: su:silversword+ will get you occurrences of
silversword and silverswords
- You can use or to broaden: mantis or mantid
- All FirstSearch databases have more specific search keys than
su:. You can see the details for AGRICOLA,
BIOSIS,
BiolAgr
Index, CINAHL,
MEDLINE,
and General Science Index.
- You view a record by typing its number, and once it's on the
screen move forward to second and subsequent screens by hitting the
f key
- You can e-mail complete records to yourself by hitting the
e key when any page of a record is displayed, then typing your
e-mail address, then re-typing it when prompted to do so.
Once you have retrieved a set you can look at the items in it at no
charge, moving from one to the next by typing numbers, and moving from
one screen to another within a record with f and b. If you
want to go from a record back to the index list, just hit the
<ENTER> key, but be careful: if you hit the <ENTER> key
while looking at the index list you will lose your search.
Next question: where to begin?-
BioDigest offers access to short articles (usually 5-6 screens)
which are meant to be readable by high school and college-level folks.
It's worth doing a quick search here to get a jumpstart yourself, or to see
how a subject is presented for a general audience. If there's nothing
then there's no charge for the search.
- General Science Index includes popular science magazines which
sometimes are absent from the more 'professional' databases; it's worth a
look (especially in the early stages of figuring out a topic), but rarely
leads directly to the research literature.
- BIOSIS covers a lot of important territory in Biology, but the
version available via FirstSearch is not the complete Biological
Abstracts --some areas are left out, and the time depth is about 5
years. Still, for many topics this will be the most fruitful.
- If your subject is botanical or otherwise has to do with plants or
(broadly) agriculture or entomology, AGRICOLA and BioAgr
Index are essential. They overlap, but you'll find some things in
one but not the other.
- MEDLINE is essential if your topic has to do with disease or
(broadly) biochemistry (also available via EBSCO and Lexis/Nexis, each
form having advantages).
- CINAHL is a nursing database, and has a good coverage of
practical issues in medicine, with considerable overlap with MEDLINE
(also available via EBSCO).
What about the searching strategy itself? Think carefully about which
terms have been the most fruitful in other searches you've done, try one
of the more general FirstSearch databases (like BioDigest), then try a
broad search (e.g., mantis or mantid. Then look at the
results, looking especially at descriptors (de: in some
databases, mh: in MEDLINE) which indexers have assigned to articles,
and consider using
them as search terms. To limit searches you might use and (e.g.,
de:adaptive radiation and su:plant+. You may need to do several
searches to find what you need.
If you find items we don't have but you need submit an
InterLibrary Loan request (you're supposed to limit yourself to
one ILL request for Bio182, but some subjects may be inadequately
represented in our library holdings. Consult me and/or your faculty
supervisor if you think you're in this predicament) --it takes a week or so,
sometimes longer. ILL
items will be waiting for you at the Circulation Desk, but it's up
to YOU to check for them.
A quick review of steps once you've e-mailed FirstSearch records to yourself:
- Export the e-mail messages to your Liberty home directory by
hitting the e key while viewing or highlighting the message.
You'll be asked to name the file. You can use the same name
for second and subsequent files; pine will ask you if you want to
append the file, and you can just hit <ENTER> to accept
'append' as the default.
- Move the file from your Liberty home directory to a Mac or PC using
Fetch or RapidFiler
- Edit the file using the word processor of your choice: delete headers
and (at least for the material you send to me and your faculty
supervisor) abstracts (though you may want to print the abstracts for
your own use).
- Save the file as ASCII/text if it's to be e-mailed.
- Move the ASCII file back to your Liberty home directory using Fetch
or RapidFiler
- Insert the file into an e-mail message
- Be sure to look it over and reformat it (<CONTROL><j>) if
it looks raggedy. Neatness counts, or is at the very least a virtue.