The library has hundreds of databases filled with thousands of journals and periodicals with millions of articles, as well as a catalog full of books, videos, and other resources. In order to make searching this huge collection easier we have a discovery service, MultiSearch. MultiSearch acts as a one stop search engine that searches not just one database, but the majority of the databases as well as the catalog at the same time. If searching one database is like online shopping at a specific store's website, then searching with MultiSearch would be more like shopping at an online superstore like Amazon, where there is a lot of everything and it can get overwhelming. So, while it's a super useful tool to search all your bases at once, you have to be even more strategic so your results don't overwhelm you.
While the MultiSearch may not look exactly like the rest of the databases, it functions in basically the same way. The biggest difference is that it will have exponentially more results because it is searching most of the library's databases as well as the Library Catalog, all at the same time. This means that your results will be a mixture of articles from journals, magazines, and newspapers, as well as print books and e-books from the Library's collection.
Searching the MultiSearch is fundamentally the same as searching a database. You start by putting your search directly into the MultiSearch search bar on the Library's homepage (suu.edu/library).
After you type in your search terms combined with Boolean operators, click enter or press Submit MultiSearch to see the MultiSearch results list. The results will look similar to databases you’ve searched, but with some slight stylistic changes. The biggest difference is that the filters you can use to narrow your search are now underneath the search bar. Note that you have the same advanced search options that databases have, with the multiple search bars.
Because you are searching many databases and the Library Catalog all at once, you get many search results using MultiSearch. This means you will probably have to use the filter options to get the results down to a more manageable size. All of the filters in MultiSearch are listed directly below the search bar on the results page. The following sections will talk more about how to use each of those filters, from left to right.
The All time filter allows you to filter by the date of publication (this filter is called Published Date in the All Filters sidebar) which will allow you to limit your results to just the ones in the time period chosen. It defaults to 12 months, 5 years, and 10 years, but also gives you the option to create your own custom range, based on the range that is useful for your specific topic.
Another very useful filter that gets its own button on the filter bar is the Scholarly Peer Reviewed filter. Select this filter if you are looking to find ONLY peer reviewed sources. This will filter out everything that isn't considered "peer reviewed". However, as the majority of your classes and professors will require you to use peer reviewed articles, it is a very good filter for saving time.
The Full text filter narrows the results to just those sources that have the entire article available. While this might seem useful if you’re on a limited time frame, it can filter out some potentially good results that aren’t immediately available, but could be easily requested through Interlibrary Loan (ILL). So use this filter sparingly, since it’s not a relevancy based filter.
All FiltersThe All filters button contains all of the filter options, including the more popular ones that are included in the line of filter options below the search box. Clicking on All filters opens a sidebar on the right where you can access all of the potential filters (see image).
The Subject filter is helpful, as it will give you suggestions for subjects to help limit your results. These subjects are the same suggested subjects that you might have noticed in your search results. You can also filter by Publisher, Language, and Publication, as well as others.
While most professors will focus on peer reviewed sources, this doesn't mean that non-peer reviewed sources don't have their place. In fact, many professors will allow you to use a mixture of source types. It is always important to use good evaluation techniques besides just "peer review" to choose your sources (see the CRAAP Test reading). In one of the INFO 1010 assignments you will be asked to find a book or e-book, a popular article (such as news or magazine articles), and a peer reviewed academic article relevant to your topic. The source type filters (in both the MultiSearch and other databases) are good ways to ensure that you find a source of each type. Use this filter to your advantage to easily search and find the right type of source.
You can get to the detailed record of any source in the results list by clicking on the title or the View Details link at the bottom of the result. The detailed record is the page that has all the publication details needed to create a citation, as well as the subjects and other information about the source. The Access now button appears on this page too, and it's also where you can find the tools to create a citation and email a source to yourself. These tools are in the top right by the title, in icon format.
The quotation mark icon is the citation generator button and the arrow icon is for sharing the source to someone via email, Google Drive, or by creating a permanent link or Permalink and sharing it. When you click on either, a popup window will appear with options to cite or share the article. The citation generator works similarly to the ones in the other databases, it just looks slightly different. Make sure you pick the correct citation style before you copy the citation.
PLEASE NOTE: the citations will not necessarily be correct since they were generated automatically, so always proofread them before using. It is also likely that when you copy (ctrl + c) and paste to plain text (ctrl + shift + v), it will remove the formatting. If the formatting is changed, you will need to replace the italics and other similar formatting to ensure your citation is correct. Missing Italics and author names in all capital letters are the most common issue when using this citation generator.
NOTE: If you are having trouble accessing an ebook, the easiest way to fix it is by clearing your browser cache, or history to reset the cookies in your browser. Here are links to instructions on how to do this in Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. If you are unsure on how to do this in a different browser, search the Internet for “how to clear cache” for your particular browser.
