Using FirstSearch
Simple Steps to Get You Started
What is FirstSearch?
OCLC's FirstSearch® service is an interactive online information system
that gives you vital, timely information about books, journal articles, films,
computer software, and other materials in your subject area.
FirstSearch is very easy to use; no training is necessary. Just
follow the instructions that appear online.
The FirstSearch service is a product of OCLC Online
Computer Library Center, Inc., a nonprofit membership organization
serving libraries and educational institutions worldwide.
Using FirstSearch: an overview
Here are the basic steps involved in finding
information with FirstSearch:
- Pick up an authorization card, entitling you to 10 searches, in the Library.
- Formulate the search beforehand; write out your search
terms before you search online.
- Logon either from the Library Web page or by telneting to fscat.oclc.org.
Once you are logged on to FirstSearch, select a topic
area (e.g., Conferences and Proceedings, Education, Engineering and
Technology, etc.) for your search.
- After selecting a topic area, select a
database in which to search. Each topic area has a number of
databases associated with it. The FirstSearch Databases notebook or
online help can provide you with information about
the scope of each database.
- Select the type of search you will do--subject, title,
author, or some other type. Each database provides a number of ways
to search. You can find out which searches are valid for a
particular database by typing h labels. A label (su:, ti:,
au:,
etc.) defines how you will search for information.
- Enter your search. For example, type s
su:computers to do a subject search for information on
computers.
- Scan the list of records produced by your search. Each
record has a number. To see the full record, type the number of the
record. A full record consists of bibliographic information like
author name, title, descriptors (subject headings), date, journal
name, etc. An abstract is included with most records.
- Use the Forward and Back actions to page forward and
backward in a record display.
- Depending on the record,
you may be able to see a full-text
display of the article, E-mail the article to yourelf, or see a
list
of libraries that have a copy of it.
- Perform other searches, as necessary, using the
Search action.
- Type BYE to end
your FirstSearch session.
FirstSearch actions
To use any of the following actions in FirstSearch,
type the action or its first letter(s) and press
<Enter>.
The available actions are:
| Action | Description |
| And | Add one search term to another |
| Back | Go back one page in a multipage display |
| BYE | Disconnect from FirstSearch |
| Database | Select a database to search |
| Email | E-mail a record to an indicated E-mail address
|
| Forward | Go forward one page in a multipage display
|
| Help | Get help on using FirstSearch |
| LIBraries | Find out which libraries own a record |
| Limit | Restrict records retrieved to a specific
category |
| Reset | Return to Welcome screen; exit your current
database |
| Search | Begin a new search |
| Wordlist | Check spelling of a word or phrase |
How to search
Starting a search:
- Type s and press <Enter> to
start a search. FirstSearch prompts you for a search term.
- Enter a label and a search term, e.g., ti:Hubble Space
Telescope
A shorter way to search is to type the Search action, the label,
and the search term all at once:
s ti:hubble space telescope
Some examples of labels are:
| Label | Description |
| su: | subject |
| au: | author |
| ti: | title |
| ab: | abstract |
If you don't use a label in your search, FirstSearch automatically
does a subject search, e.g., s astronomy
Search examples:
s su:active galactic nuclei (Subject Search)
s au:allan sandage (Author Search)
s ti:atlas of galaxies (Title Search)
s ab:galaxies (Abstract Search)
FirstSearch also provides for many other types of searches,
such as publisher searches, descriptor searches (descriptors:
primary and secondary subject headings), abstract searches
(abstract: a summary of the contents of an online record), and
source searches (source: the journal issue in which the article was
published). The kinds of searches available depend on the database
you are using. To see which searches are valid for your database,
type h labels or see the FirstSearch Databases notebook.
You can return to the List of Records from a Full
Record Display by pressing <Enter>.
Checking your spelling
Use the Wordlist action before you start
your search to:
- Check the spelling of a word
- Check for variant spellings or word endings
- Check how many records contain the word or phrase
- Check for an exact author name, title, or other
phrase
Examples:
w au:smythe (check spelling of an author's name)
w cholesterol (check the subject index for
variant terms)
w ab:cognitive process (check for a term in the
abstracts of records)
w ti=inside the kgb (check for an exact
title)
When you use the Wordlist action (e.g., w au=jones),
FirstSearch
displays an alphabetical list of words. Each numbered line
of the wordlist shows the number of records that word or phrase
would retrieve. You can search for a word or phrase in the wordlist
by simply typing the number that appears at the beginning of
its line.
Including plurals in your search
For some searches, you can type + at the end of a
search term to search for that word and its simple plural and
possessive forms. FirstSearch searches for the word itself and for
the word with 's, s, es, s', and es' added at the end. It
does not
search for other plural forms, such as ies for words that end in
y.
See the FirstSearch Databases notebook to identify the types of
searches that have this feature.
Examples:
s witch+ (Find records with witch, witches, witch's, or
witches' as a subject)
s ti:fashion+ (Find records with fashion, fashions, fashion's,
or fashions' in the title.)
s de:school+ (Find records with school, schools, school's or
schools' as a descriptor)
Using limits
Use the Limit action either before or after a search
to limit the number of records retrieved by your search. Some
examples of limits are:
- Years (years in which books or articles
were published)
- Type (article types, e.g., news,
editorials)
- Language (language in which a book or
article is written)
Using the Limit action before a search
Type l and press <Enter> to
see the Limit screen for your database. The limits available depend
on which database you are using.
- Select one or more limits to be used in your search.
- Type your search, e.g., s su:libraries
- FirstSearch performs the search with the limits you
selected.
Using the Limit action after a search
The Limit action is frequently used following a
search, in instances where your search has retrieved too many
records. Suppose you enter the search, s su:education, and the
resulting number of records is too large. Typing l and pressing
<Enter> allows you to apply the available
limits and re-do your search with those limits. The resulting set
of records will be more manageable and contain more relevant
information. Note that applying the limit following a search incurs an
additional search charge.
Reusing limits
You can use the limits from your previous search in a
new search. To do this, enter a new search, e.g., s au:taylor.
FirstSearch asks if you would like to use the limits from your last
search in your new search. You can:
- Type y and press <Enter> to apply
the limits to the new search.
- Type n and press <Enter> to
search without any limits. This also erases any previously used
limits.
- Type Cancel and press <Enter>> to
cancel the current search.
Using AND, OR, and NOT
Use AND, OR, and NOT to make your search more
pertinent.
Combining search terms
The Boolean operators AND and OR are used to combine
terms in a search, but they have different effects. AND enables you
to narrow the focus of your search by specifying that the search
results contain not only one search term, but also another.
Examples:
s su:history and su:europe
s au:twain and ti:huckleberry finn
In the preceding examples, the searches will retrieve only records
that contain both history and Europe as subjects, or records
with
Twain as author and Huckleberry Finn as the title. In both
examples, the searches return fewer records than if only one of the
search terms were used by itself.
The OR operator widens the scope of a search. In the following
examples, using OR retrieves the records specified by the first
search term, and also the records specified by the second
search term.
Examples:
s au:smith or au:jones
s ab:sports or su:college+
Because the OR operator can produce large sets of records, it
should be used with care. If you use the OR operator, use it with
narrowly-focused search terms. OR can be used a maximum of two
times in a search statement.
Example:
s au:murphy or su:desktop publishing
or de:electronic publishing
Excluding search terms
The Boolean NOT operator is used to narrow the focus
of a search by locating records containing one search term but not
another.
Examples:
| To find records with | Type |
| Jazz as subject but not blues as subject | s
su:jazz not
su:blues or
s su:(jazz not blues) |
| Updike as author but not Rabbit, Run as title |
s au:updike
not
ti:rabbit run |
| Mozart as author and violin as subject but not piano
as subject | s au:mozart and
su:violin not su:piano
s au:mozart and
su:(violin not piano) |
Using bound phrases
Use bound phrases to make your search focused and
precise. Bound phrases consist of all the words (and spaces)
in a field bound together as a single search term.
Bound phrases must be preceded by an equals sign (=). The fields
searchable as bound phrases vary from database to database. To see
a list, type h labels and press <Enter>.
Because a bound phrase must be entered exactly as it appears
in the record(s), you should use the Wordlist action before
searching to find the correct form.
Example: w au=jones
The value of bound phrases is that they let you focus your search
and screen out irrelevant records.
Other examples of bound phrase searches:
s au=forbes gilbert b (searching by author)
s sh=earthquake prediction (searching by subject
heading)
s de=retail trade (searching by descriptor)
s so=time (searching by source)
The value of bound phrase searching is illustrated by the last
example. If this search had been entered as s so:time,
it would have produced not only records from Time magazine, but
also records in which the word time appears somewhere in a journal
title.
Viewing records
When you enter a search, the results appear as a
List of Records. Eight records are displayed in the list at a
time. To see the next page of records in a List of Records,
type f (for
the Forward action). To see a Full Record Display for any
record from the List of Records, type its number.
Selecting databases
Upon entering FirstSearch, you select a topic area
from the Topic Area Selection screen, and then select a database
from the Database Selection screen (each topic area has a number of
databases connected to it).
- If you want to select another database within the
same topic area, type d (for the Database action) to return
to the
Database Selection screen. You can then select a database in the
same topic area.
- If you want to select a database in a different
topic area, type r (for the Reset action) to return to the
FirstSearch Welcome screen. From this screen, press
<Enter> to display the Topic Area Selection
screen. After selecting a new topic area, you can then select a
database within that topic area.
Full text of articles online
Some FirstSearch databases offer the complete text of
articles for online viewing. If your library offers this access,
use it as follows:
- From the Full Record Display screen, type the
Text action.
- If the article you want is available online, the View
or Email option appears on the Text Delivery screen.
- Select the View or Email option.
- An Online Delivery screen is displayed, from which you
select a document supplier.
- The full text of the article is displayed or you see
a prompt to enter your E-mail address. You may also use the
Email action at any time
while reading the full text version of the article.
Finding libraries that have an item
you can use the LIBraries action to see a list of libraries that
own a copy of an item. To use the LIBraries action:
- Type LIB at the prompt on the Full Record
Display screen. The Library Holdings Display
tells you which libraries in your area have the item.
- If you'd like to get a copy of the item, contact the Library.
E-mailing records and articles
The Email action allows you to E-mail one or more
records to an E-Mail address that you specify. To use the Email
action:
- From the List of Records screen, or the Full Record
Display, or an online full-text display, type e and the number of
the record(s) you want to E-mail.
- At the prompt, enter your E-mail address.
- At the confirm prompt, enter your E-mail address again
to make sure it is correct.
- Press <Enter>.
Examples:
e 6,7,10-11 (E-mail records 6,7,10 and 11)
e 10-14 (E-mail records 10 through 14)
Online help
Use the Help action to see information about using
FirstSearch.
- Type h and press <Enter>.
FirstSearch displays a menu of help topics.
- Follow the screen instructions to select your online
help topic.
To see a complete list of help topics, type h help and press
<Enter>.