Funk/ACES Library · University of Illinois · www.library.illinois.edu/funkaces
Agricola
The National Agriculture Library Catalog via Ovid
http://site.ovid.com/products/ovidguide/agradb.htm
About Agricola
AGRICOLA (AGRICultural OnLine Access) database serves as the catalog and index to the
collections of the National Agricultural Library, as well as a primary public source for
world-wide access to agricultural information. The database covers materials in all formats and periods, including printed works from as far back as the 15th century. Agricola
contains two primary information sets, the NAL Online Public Access Catalog which contains citations to materials (mostly) held in the NAL's collection, and the Article Citation
Database, which includes citations, many with abstracts, to articles, book chapters,
reports, and reprints. 1970-1985 is international in scope. 1985+ focuses on U.S. related
publications.
Dates of Coverage: 1970—present; updated monthly
Access:
1) From the Funk Library ACES homepage (http://www.library.illinois.
edu/funkaces/), click the “Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental
Sciences (ACES)” link under the “Collections and Subjects” heading.
Under “Key Databases,” select “Agricola.”
2) From the Library homepage (http://www.library.illinois.edu), search
for “Agricola” and click on the direct link at the top of the search results.
3) From the “Online Journals & Databases” link on the Library
homepage, search for “Agricola” and follow the links.
Types of searches:
Basic Search: General search; can limit by date, type, or relevancy
rating.
Find Citation: Perfect if you have a specific article you are looking for.
Advanced Search: Allows users to combine searches using Boolean operators, set limits, and map to related terms.
Multi-field Search: Combine terms in specific search areas (e.g., “Smith”
in author field, “soybeans” in subject field, “2013” in date field)
My Workspace
Although it is possible to save your searches, notice that you are logged in
as a generic U of I user (i.e. ui003). You may not be able to re-access your
saved files. Instead, once you have created a file of documents, export it
to a citation manager, Word, Excel, PDF, .txt, or XML file, or email the
folder to yourself.
Boolean Operators: All searches can be conducted in natural language, but you might find
these function words helpful:
To limit results: use AND to find articles with all terms (x AND y)
To broaden results: use OR to find articles with either term (x OR y)
To eliminate some terms: use NOT to find articles with one term but not
the other (x NOT y)
Truncation / Wildcard symbols:
(*) replaces multiple characters in a word (agricultur* returns agriculture,
agricultural, and agriculturalist)
(?) replaces a single character (disrupt?rs for disrupters and disruptors)
($) replaces one or zero characters (colo$r for color and colour)
NEAR/#: The terms joined by this operator must be within # number of
words of each other. If no number is specified (x NEAR y), the default is
15 words.
Choosing search terms
1. Choose specific terms
closely related to your research topic.
2. Choose terms that you
might use when discussing your topic with a colleague, including current
jargon.
3. Include synonyms and abbreviations.
4. This search is not case
sensitive.
5. Agricola also finds variant
spellings and forms of a
word.
If you need assistance,
contact a
Funk Library librarian!
Phone:
217.333.2416
E-mail:
aceslib@library.illinois.edu
Hours:
http://www.library.illinois.edu/
Funk/ACES Library · University of Illinois · www.library.illinois.edu/funkaces
Basic Search Overview
Agricola searches in the Ovid database will match the bibliographic record, not the full text, of the articles. However, the basic
search automatically searches all fields, including author, title, keyword, publisher, ISBN, and more. To limit the type of search,
choose Search Fields or Advanced Search.
To conduct a Select Topic Enter keywords into the search box. Use nouns, and avoid limiting searches with punctuation (“lowtopic search: yield crops” would return fewer results than low yield crops). Common words (the, of, for) will be dropped out;
the used search terms appear in the column on the right.
In basic search, you will increase your results if you click the box marked “Include related terms.” This will include
synonyms and alternate spellings.
To conduct a Select Title. Enter the title of an article, journal, or book directly into the search box.
title search:
To conduct
an author
search:
Select Author You can search by entering the authors’ names. Although many are standardized in the form Last
name First Initial (like Smith J), you do not need to type names in any specific format to find results.
Results:
1) Each search is recorded in your Search History, located at the top of the page. Click Display on the right side to
view results, or the More button to either save or delete your search.
2) Sort and filter your results by selecting from the toolbar to the left.
3) Beside each result, click the links to view the abstract and complete references, similar articles, articles which
cite the article, and find full text.
4) Use the My Projects tool to save and organize your research. Add a document or search to your projects by
simply selecting the entry and clicking the Add to My Projects or +My Projects buttons. You can also access and
manage your projects through the My Workspace tab at the top of the page.
Phrase searching:
Ovid databases use natural-language processing, meaning any phrase can be entered in “everyday
language.” Keywords are highly indexed, and common phrases (“soybean rust”, for example) will be
recognized as keyword terms.
Limits:
Limit Basic and Advanced Searches by type of item (article, book chapter, etc.); relevancy ranking
(measured in stars); or year published. To enforce more limits, including language or target audience, click
“Additional Limits.”
Term searching:
Ovid databases use a mapping process to statistically analyze and match search terms with the controlled
vocabulary (a set of pre-determined terms describing concepts within the database) of the database. By
mapping search terms to the language of the database, Ovid removes a lot of guesswork on the user’s part.
Access the mapping tool by beginning an Advanced Search and selecting the Map Term to Subject Heading
box under the search bar.
Search by Journal:
Search by journal name by clicking the Journals tab at the top of the page. Either enter in the name of the
journal in the search bar or browse the list alphabetically or by subject.
Find Citations:
The Find Citation tool allows you to enter fielded data to retrieve specific journal article citations. Access
Find Citation by selecting the link on the search taskbar near the top of the page.
Find Full Text, Save and Export Citation, etc.
Find full text:
Access the full text of articles by clicking on the Discover Full Text@UIUC link to the right of each entry. If
the article is available to UIUC users, a link to the article appears in the “Full Text” section. If not, you will be
provided with a link to search for the journal in the library catalog or request a copy of the article through
InterLibrary Loan (ILL). The Discover button also allows you to download the citation to Refworks.
Save, export, or print Save, export, or print citations by selecting the desired entries on the Results page and clicking the Print,
citations:
Email, or Export buttons above the results. A window should appear with more information.
For more “Help” contact Funk Library at 217-333-2416, OR just Ask A Librarian !
This guide is available online at: http://www.library.illinois.edu/funkaces/handouts/agricola.pdf
Created 8/19/2013 by DH; 8/26/2014 mma