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Using
ProQuest Direct
ProQuest
Direct is an online periodical database that contains citations,
abstracts and in many cases full-text articles from journals, magazines, and
newspapers- over 10,000 publications in total. . ProQuest Direct may be used at any of the campus computer
stations that have access to the World Wide Web and may be accessed from your
home computer by acquiring a password from the library.
Conducting a search
The first screen you see when opening up ProQuest
will be the Basic Search screen.
Here you may type in your topic or select it from the
"Browse topics" option to the right of the search box. This will allow you
search for topics and sub-topics in the same search. Below is an example of a
Basic search:
Notice at the right-hand side of the screen you have the
Browse Topics
option. Clicking here will allow you look through a listing of topics indexed in
the database. This is particularly helpful if you are not getting the results
that you need.
If you want to try to refine your search you may want to consider using the
Advanced Search
option, which you select by clicking on the
folder at the top of the screen. This will allow you to
combine three search fields or more together at one time as well as
specifying a date range . For example, you may search for articles on
the Iraq War that were published in the Los Angeles Times
between September 2003 and May 2004. The subjects and publication options are
selected through the drop-down menus to the right of the search boxes. Below is
an example:
In addition to the "Browse publications" option from the Basic and Advanced
searches (see above) you may also search for publication titles by selecting the
Publication Search option at the top of the screen. Note
that not all of the publications in ProQuest are full-text. When you view lists of
publications look for the full-text symbol ( ) next to the title of the
publication. This indicates that the publication contains complete coverage,
meaning that citations, abstracts, and the full-text of the articles are
available. In some cases
ProQuest will offer full-text coverage of the recent years of the publication
but only citations and abstracts for the years further back.
Viewing
your results
The
Results
screen
displays the articles in descending order, with the most recently published
article appearing first. Next to the name of the
article you will see a legend indicating whether or not the article is available
full-text () or only as an
abstract
( .)
When
you see the article displayed, note that you have several options.
You may email the article to yourself by clicking on “Email Articles”
.
This will bring you to a screen on which you enter your email address (you may
also add a subject header or additional information.) You may also print the
article. The online computer stations on the first floor are networked to a
coin-operated laser printer that charges ten cents per page. If you are printing
from Room 210 you will need to purchase a vend card. You may also Mark
the articles for emailing or printing later by clicking on the little box on that
appears at the beginning of each article title. Once you have marked your
articles you may click on Marked List folder at the top of the screen. This
will allow you to email the articles all at once.
Getting
Help
You
have many more options available to you when using ProQuest. To
get tips on performing a search, select the Search Guide or
Help icons on the top right-hand corner
of the screen.
Please
see a librarian for further assistance or to obtain a password for off-campus
use.
Note:
The screen shots and their contents are published with permission of Bell &
Howell Information and Learning Company. Further reproduction is prohibited
without permission. Inquiries may be made to : Bell and Howell Information and
Learning Company, 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346 USA. Telephone
(734) 761-4700; Fax (734) 997-4332. Email: info@proquest.com. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.
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