Skip to main content

Using Filters in Library Search to Focus Results

By
Library Search is a discovery tool, allowing you to find items within the library collections.

In this blog post I’m going to look at how you can use the filter options to focus your search results. Here is an example search – diabetes type 1 and teenagers – and the search results.
Search Results presented in Library Search, filter options on the left-hand-side
Search Results presented in Library Search, filter options on the left-hand-side

The filter options are all on the left-hand-side of the screen. The filter options may depend on the type of items returned by your search. Typically you can filter by:

  • Full-text availability
  • Resources Type
  • Date (usually publication date)
  • Subject – subject headings available will depend on your results
  • Library – if print items are included in your results
Range of filter options presented for this set of results
Range of filter options presented for this set of results

Be aware that restricting your search may bias your results. Be clear on why you are using the filters.

Here are some options that you might want to consider:

1. Include results with no full text.

This will increase the number of results presented, although you may not get full-text access to all of them.

Remember that the full-text option only refers to Keele subscribed full-text. NHS users will need to check NHS-subscribed resources in order to determine whether they have access to full-text articles and ebooks.
Click the option "include results with no full-text" to see all the results from the relevant resources
Click the option "include results with no full-text" to see all the results from the relevant resources

You can check the Health Library website to see all the options on accessing full-text.

2. Publication Date Range

You can select a date range by year to filter your results. This is useful if you want to check whether there is any recent research available.
View of the Date filter option
View of the Date filter option

I have reduced the date range to the years 2000 to 2019.

3. Subject

The Subject filter option might be helpful to focus your search further. The values presented here are generated from the content presented in your results. You can select more than one option at a time.
View of the Subject terms presented for this set of results, with my selections ticked
View of the Subject terms presented for this set of results, with my selections ticked

In my example I have selected to view only items which include the subject terms relating to young people.

Note that the subject terms presented here are not the same as thesaurus terms used within a bibliographic database.

4. Viewing your Filters

You can see all the filters you have selected at the top of the search results. To remove a filter click the “X”. You can also reset all the filters, this will cancel them all in one go.
View of the filter options that I have selected - date range and subject terms
View of the filter options that I have selected - date range and subject terms

Be aware that search on Library Search is not as comprehensive as using the bibliographic databases such as Cinahl and Medline.

All the Library Search blog posts have been tagged with the hashtag #LibrarySearch_demos. You can view all the posts that will help you to use Library Search by clicking this tag.

You can find more help on using Library Search by checking the Online Guides and Support section of our website.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ePub ahead of Print

By
  ePub ahead of print means that the article is being listed online before it is released in the published journal issue, whether published online or in print. Whether you can access the full-text of the epub-ahead-of-print will depend on the publisher’s rules for our subscription. Some publishers will include ahead-of-print in our subscription and you’ll have no problem accessing them. However, some publishers will not include this access in our subscription. Unfortunately, there is no way of indicating whether the epub-ahead-of-print is available or not on our journal lists. You won’t really be able to tell unless you try to access it and fail. What can you do if you want an unavailable epub-ahead-of-print? Wait – you can wait for the issue to be published that will include the article Apply for an article request – we will see if another library is able to provide a copy. Complete our online form to make a request. If you need any help accessing full-text articles, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Looking for key resources for F1s at UHNM

By
   Are you a foundation year doctor, starting work at UHNM (University Hospitals of North Midlands)? Make sure you get off to a good start by using key resources to support your clinical decisions and help you to practice evidence-based medicine. Key resources for foundation year doctors include: NHS OpenAthens  – register for your NHS OpenAthens username. This gives you access to NHS-based online resources such as ebooks, journals and databases. Complete the online form to register –  follow these instructions . Oxford Medicine Online  – Follow best practice by using Oxford Medicine reference texts. You can access a wide range of handbooks for easy to read information across a range of specialties. For more information about the collection  read our blog post . BMJ Best Practice  – a wealth of information to help you, including epidemiolgy, history and exam, treatement, patient discussions, complications, patient leaflets and so much more for conditio...
Post a Comment
Read more

Stop the Pressure Day – preventing pressure ulcers

By
  Today Thursday 16 th November (2023) is Stop the Pressure Day. This national campaign aims to raise awareness of the seriousness of pressure ulcers and to highlight how to prevent pressure ulcers in patients. Pressure ulcers are a key indicator of nursing care . Use our resources to learn more about pressure ulcers, how you can prevent them and how you can treat them.   Check these key resources :   [You will need your NHS OpenAthens username to access these resources]   Oxford Medicine Online   Chapter 27 Pressure ulcer prevention and management in Oxford Handbook of Nursing Older People   Chapter 24 Preventing and limiting deterioration on the medical wards in Handbook of Patient Safety   BMJ Best Practice – Pressure Ulcer   Clinical Knowledge Summaries – Pressure Ulcers   Cochrane Library Clinical Answers – How do different support surfaces compare in terms of pressure ulcer prevention?   RCN i journal Nursing Standard - U...
Post a Comment
Read more