Alumnae Library > Help > Help Guides > OneSearch Federated Search

OneSearch Federated Search

Information at Your Fingertips

A Guide for Survival in the Information Jungle

To Access OneSearch | To Use OneSearch | To Read Results | To Sort Results | To Use Link Resolver | To Export or E-mail Results | Database Titles

OneSearch is a federated searching engine that allows users to type in keywords once to search man of the library's electronic databases. Federated searching will simultaneously search through many of our electronic databases, online card catalog, and selected websites. OneSearch provides citations and abstracts, but will link to full-text articles, electronic books, and records in our library's catalog.

To Access the OneSearch Service

1. Open a web browser and go to the library home page: http://www.elms.edu/library
2. At Library Website
3. Click "Electronic Databases"
4. Login using library barcode and last name
5. The basic search screen will appear

To Use the OneSearch Service

1. The basic search screen lists all electronic databases alphabetically by title
2. Users may search databases either individually (by title), as a group, or by subject
3. To search a group of databases together, click on the white box next to the title
   a. Type search terms in white box, next to "keyword"
   b. Click "search"
4. To search databases by subject, click on the link that says "search by subject." Subject lists may be searched two ways:
    a. Type search terms in white box, next to "keyword"
                   --Locate subject (ex: nursing), click in white box to select
                   --Click "search"
     b. Choose subject (ex: nursing) & click
                   --Locate & choose databases to search-either click in white boxes to select or go directly into the database by clicking the title (ex.: CINAHL)
                  --Type search terms in white box, next to "keyword"
                  --Click "search"

NOTE: Not all resources have checkboxes, which means they cannot be searched as a group. Users will need to go directly into the database to search them (ex: Boston Globe).

To Read OneSearch Results

1. Within seconds of clicking "search," users will start to see the results of the search.
2. Located on the left-hand side of the screen will be a list of the database titles and the number of records found in each database
3. The middle of the page shows the citations for each record
4. To view record click on the title - once in the record, the user will be able to see if this record is full-text or an abstract
5. The results page will also show the following message: results 1-25 of 241 returned for "keyword contains whatever keywords were used" (48344 total)
   a. The results screen will show 25 results out of 48,344 in total
   b. To view all results, click "next results for all resources", which will show up when viewing the last page of results. Occasionally, users may see three dots after the last page number (ex: 1-2-3-4-5-6 ...). Click on the three dots to view the next set of results.
6. Users may also click on a database title from the "results by source" list, located on the left-side of the screen. Clicking on any database from this list will bring the user to that set of results for that particular database. The number of resources located for a particular database is shown in parentheses next to the database title (ex: Academic OneFile (1390)).

To Sort Results

1. Users may sort the search results by using the following criteria (all options are located in the header above the results).
2. Sort By: These links allow users to sort the search results by publication date, title, author, or source. If the results contain publication dates, they will automatically be sorted by date unless the user chooses another sort option.
3. Filter By: Users may click the checkbox to filter the results to "full-text" only. However, the librarians do not suggest using this option. Searches are more complete when all results are viewed.

To Use the Link Resolver

1. Some of the results may include a link to a "link resolver". This enables users of online library resources to navigate from a citation to a full-text copy of an article, if available, in another database.
2. If the link is available, click on the sentence that says "search for full-text availability."
3. If full-text is available, a new window will appear with the message "content is available via the following links." The links will be listed in alphabetical order by database. Users may click on their choice, if more than one is available.
4. If full-text is not available, a new window will appear with the message "sorry, no holdings were found for this journal." For these journal titles, please request an InterLibrary Loan.

To Export, Save, and Email Results

1. Search results may be exported, saved, or emailed. The links are located above the search results and will become live when a checkbox has been selected next to an item. When all items are chosen, click one of the following:
2. Email: Fill in the required fields for "your name," email, and subject. A message is optional. At "select record format" - choose either HTML or plain text. Then click "send email". A message will show that says "6 record(s) sent to test@test.org." Click the button that says "close." The email message will come in with the subject the user typed in and the following phrase in the from field: "noreply@serialssolutions.com" 
3. Export/Save: At "export selected records" choose either HTML or plain text. Then click "export." At next screen click "save records." At file download window click "save." Choose folder and click "open." When file has finished saving - click "open" to view the exported records.

NOTE: The library does not support RefWorks, EndNote, or ProCite. Please choose either HTML or plain text when selecting a record format.

Databases Available Through OneSearch

1. Academic OneFile
2. Academic Search Complete
3. AgeLine
4. AGRICOLA
5. Anthropological Index
6. Applied Science and Technology Abstracts
7. Art Full Text
8. ArticleFirst
9. ATLAReligion
10. Biography in Context
11. BioMedCentral
12. Books & Authors
13. Boston Globe
14. Business Insights: Essentials
15. C/W MARS Library Catalog
16. Cambridge Journals Online
17. Catholic Periodical and Literature Index
18. CINAHL Plus with Full Text
19. Clase and Periódica
20. Cochrane Collection Plus
21. Contemporary Literary Criticism Select
22. CQ Researcher
23. Credo Reference
24. Criminal Justice collection (InfoTrac)
25. Criminal Justice Periodicals Index (ProQuest )
26. Culinary Arts
27. Current Contents Connect: Life Sciences
28. Digital Treasures
29. Directory of Open Access Journals
30. ebooks on EBSCOhost
31. Ebrary Academic Complete Subscription Collection
32. EBSCOhost EJS (Electronic Journal Service)
33. Education Research Complete
34. Education Resources Information Complete (ERIC)
35. Educator's Reference Complete
36. Educator's Reference Desk
37. Electronic Books (E-Books)
38. Electronic Collections Online (ECO)
39. Elms College Library Catalog
40. Environmental Studies & Policy
41. ERIC (FirstSearch)
42. Expanded Academic ASAP
43. Films on Demand
44. Gale Virtual Reference Library
45. Gardening, Landscape & Horticulture Collection
46. General Business File ASAP
47. General OneFile
48. General Reference Center Gold
49. General Science Full Text
50. Global Issues in Context
51. GPO Monthly Catalog
52. GreenFile
53. Health & Wellness Resource Center
54. Health Reference Center Academic
55. History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
56. hospitality, Tourism and Leisure Collection
57. InfoTrac Junior Edition
58. InfoTrac Student Edition
59. Issues & Controversies
60. Kids InfoBits
61. LexisNexis Academic
62. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts (LISTA) with Full-text
63. Literary Reference Center
64. Literature Resource Center
65. MarciveWeb DOCS
66. MEDLINE
67. MEDLINE Plus Health Information
68. Medline with Full-Text
69. MedPix: Medical Image Database
70. Mental Measurements Yearbook( WebSPIRS )
71. MOCAT (Catalog of U.S. Government Publications)
72. NASW Clinical Register, 12th Ed. (SilverPlatter)
73. New York Times
74. NoodleBib
75. NoveList
76. Nursing & Allied Health Collection
77. Nursing Resource Center
78. OAIster
79. Opposing Viewpoints in Context
80. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center: Critical Thinking
81. Oxford Art Online
82. Oxford Journals
83. PapersFirst
84. Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine Collection
85. Plunkett Research Online
86. Population Index
87. ProceedingsFirst
88. Project Muse - Standard Collection
89. ProQuest Central
90. PsycNet (APA)
91. PubMed
92. PubMed Central
93. REHABDATA
94. Religious & Theological Abstracts
95. SAGE Premier
96. SBRnet
97. Science in Context
98. Science Online
99. ScienceDirect Health & Life Sciences College Edition
100. Social Services Abstracts 
101. Social Work Abstracts Plus
102. SocINDEX with Full Text
103. Teacher Reference Center
104. Today's Science
105. U.S. History in context
106. United States National Library of Medicine (NLM)
107. Vocations & Careers Collection
108. Wall Street Journal
109. World Almanac
110. World History in Context
111. WorldCat (OCLC FirstSearch)
112. WorldCat Dissertations and Theses