When you do any search in the library search box, you will be presented with a list of library materials that somehow match your search. Because we have access to many resources, the number of results you get could be in the hundreds of thousands. Sometimes it can be useful to see that there is so much written about your topic! But having that many items to pick from can be overwhelming, even impossible to ever get through.
To get fewer results, use the techniques and strategies detailed in the Searching page and subpages in this Research Guide. These techniques include:
Click through the images below in the "Understanding Your Search Results" section to learn about the information displayed in search results.
When you search, the results page tells you how many items match your search as well as what page of the results you're currently viewing.
Without even clicking into the results, you can select them to add to your favorites (using the thumbtack icon), email to yourself or others, or even print (by clicking the three dots next to the thumbtack)! Just click the numbered box in the top left corner of each result you want. You can select the entire page (10 results) by checking the box above the results. It also gives the option of selecting the top 50 results.
Each result gives you a lot of information: what type of resource it is, its title, who created it, when it was published, what journal it was published in, what volume/issue, and even a brief summary if available. For journal articles, it will tell you whether the article is peer reviewed or open access.
At the bottom of each result, you'll see where the resource is available, either online or somewhere in the library.
In the top right corner you'll see several icons. Not every result will have every icon. In the top result in the above image, clicking the first icon (the red directional arrow) will show you what sources this article cites (if the arrow points down) or what sources cite this article (if the arrow points up). The quotation marks give you the citation information and an option to select which style (but make sure to always double check). The link icon gives you the permalink; this is what you'll use if you want to bookmark that result or send it to somebody, for example. The thumbtack adds the result to your favorites. Make sure you're logged in to your library account if you want your favorites saved! Click the three dots to show other actions you can do, like emailing the result.
If the result tells you there are multiple versions of the result found, that means that result lists all the different formats it can find of that result. This is common with items related to music, where the audio CD, the score, and the video recording might be collapsed into the one result.
Click "See all versions" to see the different versions of the result.
