OneSearch is a simple and powerful search engine for finding relevant information from the Eckerd College Library collection on any topic. It allows you to quickly search and access a variety of library items including books, DVD’s, journal and magazine articles, and other materials from the library's physical and online collection.
OneSearch creates a unifed, customized index of Eckerd College Library's resouces and an easy, yet powerful means of accessing all of that content from a single search box. The search combines the library catalog and most of our subscription databases into one database so your search is faster and more thorough.
View these additional tutorials to learn more about OneSearch and start using it today!
Often, the best way to find materials in a database on a certain topic is to use "keyword searching." This is when you search for words anywhere in the database record - in the title, the subject headings, the author's name, etc. It's important to use the most important (or, "key") words in your topic, to get the most relevant results.
Example topic: How does the distracted mind impact the academic performance of college students?
Your search phrases could be: "distracted mind" "academic performance" "college students"
Search Statement: "distracted mind" AND "academic performance" AND "college students"
Boolean Operators (Connector Terms )
AND
OR
NOT
Use "AND" to narrow your search and focus onto your topic by combining two or more terms. Example: "distracted mind" AND "academic performance" Note: OneSearch automatically searches all terms entered, no need to add the AND.
Use "OR" to broaden your search by combining synonyms or alternative forms of words. Write down any synonyms for your search terms and connect them with OR. Example: "distracted mind" OR "unsustainable focus"
Use "NOT" to exclude a keyword. Using the connector term NOT brings up one keyword and not the other. Example: "distracted mind" NOT ADHD
Using quotations around a phrase searches for those keywords side by side instead of appearing separate in the article.
For Example:
"distracted mind" instead of distracted and mind
Depending on the database you use, you may need to make your search more general or more specific.
For example, book titles are usually quite general, and you can't normally search the contents of the book, so in OneSearch when limited to the catalog only, your search terms may need to be more general.
Journal and newspaper article titles tend to be much more specific, so you might have to adjust your search and add more specific search terms.