Exercise in Locating Resources
Keeping up to date: Saving & re-running searches
SOLO
Solo allows you to save and re-run searches on the library catalogue and set up RSS or email alerts so that you will be informed when a new item which matches your search is added to the catalogue.
You need to sign-into SOLO using your Oxford Single Sign On (SSO). Then when you do your next search you will see in the top right-hand corner of your results list the words Save query. Click on that and you can give your search a name and choose whether you also want to set up an email alert. Alerts are run at midnight 7 days a week.
You can look at your saved searches and alerts at any time by going into your e-Shelf. Re-run your searches by choosing Saved queries and alerts and then clicking on the search name. You can also delete your saved queries or choose Update to add or remove an alert from a search.
SOLO also offers RSS feeds – simply click on the link and copy and paste the address which appears in the browser window into your feed reader – you do not need to login and would cancel the alert from your feed reader rather than SOLO.
Database searches
Bibliographic databases allow you to carry out detailed searching of the literature in your field. These databases let you find library materials that you cannot find on OLIS, e.g.:
- Journal articles
- Book reviews
- Book chapters
In order to find the most relevant material for your topic, you need to spend some time defining your search terms. Many databases allow you to save these searches once you have formulated them. You can then use these saved searches to keep up to date with your field in one of two ways:
- By going in to the database and re-running the saved search manually;
- By setting up an alert so the database automatically re-runs your search and emails you the results on a regular basis.
Saving and re-running searches in FirstSeach
FirstSearch is a platform hosting various databases for subjects across the humanities, social sciences, and science. You can save and re-run searches manually in FirstSearch to find new publications related to your search terms.
4. Your previous searches are listed and you can re-run them by clicking ‘Select terms’ and ‘Search/combine’. /
Many other databases provide similar services – check the “Help” pages for details.
OxLIP+ our electronic resources platform allows you to save and re-run searches and also to set up alerts on 200 of the 800+ e-resources we subscribe to. These 200 are identified by a magnifying glass icon . These databases are searchable from within the OxLIP+ interface as well as via their own interfaces and it is possible to search several at once.
To save searches and set up alerts using OxLIP+ you need to log into OxLIP+ using your Oxford SSO. Then do a search of your choice in any single database which displays the magnifying glass icon - by clicking on the icon - or do a search across several databases by choosing the CrossSearch option. Then choose My Research and History from the menu at the top and you will see the query. You can click on the bell icon to create an alert.
Keeping up to date November 2008