Searching   for   Information
Contents:
When/If   Things   Go   Wrong   ...................................................................................................
2
Searching   for   Information
.................................................................................
3
Searching   the   Library   Catalogue   ....................................................................................
4
Journals   ..........................................................................................................................
4
Compiling   a   Book   List   .....................................................................................................
4
Saving   a   Book   List   ...........................................................................................................
4
How   to:   ................................................................................................................................
6
How   to   renew   Your   Books   ..............................................................................................
6
Placing/cancelling   a   hold   on   a   book   ...............................................................................
6
PIN   Change   .....................................................................................................................
7
Using   a   Search   Engine   to   Search   the   Internet   .....................................................................
7
Saving   the   Results   of   a   Web   Search   as   a   File.......................................................................
7
When/If   Things   Go   Wrong
Use   the   systems’   Help   facility.
To   use   Help   in   an   application   just   click   on   the   Help   icon     or   press
F1   on   the   keyboard .
This   will   open   the   Help   dialogue   box.
Then   you   can   choose   to   browse   the   help   topics   or   type   a   phrase   to   search   by   in   the   search   box.
If   all   else   fails,   exit   from   the   application   by   clicking   on   the     at   the   top   right   corner   of   the   window.
Note:    This   icon   denotes   important   information   –   read   it   carefully.
Tasks     This   icon   denotes   a   task   which   should   be   carried   out   to   help   you   gain   the   skills   required.
If   you   have   any   comments   or   queries,   please   contact :
Room:   NH002,   ground   floor,   Students’   Association   building
Email:   ICTSkills@gcu.ac.uk
Tel:   0141   273   1373
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Searching   for   Information
Searching   for   Information    http://www.gcu.ac.uk/library   is   the   starting   point   for   any   information   you   need   about   using   the
Library   and   finding   information.
Figure   1:   Library   home   page
Click   on   the   Find   a   book   or   eBook   link   on   the   right   from   the   I   want   to…   list   on   the   Library   home   page   http://www.gcu.ac.uk/library .
This   will   open   the   catalogue   (see   Figure   2   )   and   will   allow   you   to   search   for   books   and   journals.
Figure   2:   GCU   Library   Catalogue
The   pale   blue   Search   toolbar   lists   options:   Search ;   Advanced   Search ;   Browse   A ‐ Z ;   Reading   Lists ;   and   New   Book   Lists .
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Searching   for   Information
Searching   the   Library   Catalogue
The   default   search   is   by   Keyword(s) ,   but   you   can   also   search   by   Title ,   Author   or   Name ,   Series ,
Journal   Title   or   Reading   List   keyword   by   selecting   the   correct   option   from   the   drop ‐ down   menu.
Enter   your   search   term(s)   and   click   Search   or   press   Enter     .
The   results   for   this   search   will   be   displayed.
You   can   look   at   individual   books   on   your   results   list   by   clicking   their   titles.
The   Item   Details   page   will   then   be   displayed.
To   go   back   to   the   full   list   or   search   screen,   use   the   Go   back   link   on   the   dark   blue   toolbar.
Do   not   use   the   back   button   on   your   browser   or   you   will   lose   your   search   results.
Journals
You   can   search   for   Journals   in   the   catalogue   by   following   the   Search   instructions   above,   selecting
Journal   Title   as   your   search   category,   or   by   clicking   the   Find   journals/ejournals   link   in   the   I   want   to ...
list   on   the   Library   home   page .
Compiling   a   Book   List
When   you   have   a   list   of   titles   on   the   screen,   you   can   select   those   you   wish   to   keep   in   a   Book   List   by   clicking   the   Mark   tick   box   beside   each   title   you   want   to   keep.
To   see   the   whole   list   click   Print   or   email   marked   records   link   on   the   dark   blue   toolbar.
Note:   This   list   is   temporary   and   will   not   be   automatically   saved   after   the   end   of   your   current   searching   session.
Saving   a   Book   List
If   you   want   to   keep   the   Book   List   for   future   reference   you   will   need   to   save   it.
To   do   that   click   on   the   File   menu   of   your   browser   and   then   choose   Save   as…   option   from   the   drop ‐ down   menu.
A   message   may   pop   up   asking   you   do   you   want   to   proceed   as   the   web   page   may   not   save   correctly.
Click   on   the   Yes   button   to   proceed.
The   Save   Webpage   dialogue   box   will   open.
Choose   where   you   want   to   save   the   file.
Then   type   in   a   suitable   name   for   your   Book   List   file   in   the   File   name:   field.
Choose   what   type   of   file   you   want   to   save   your   Book   List   as   by   selecting   the   appropriate   option   from   the   Save   as   type:   drop ‐ down   list.
When   you   have   filled   in   all   the   details   click   on   the   Save   button   to   save   the   file.
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Searching   for   Information
Task   1
Using   the   Library   Catalogue
Go   to   http://www.gcu.ac.uk/library   and   click   on   the   Find   a   book   or   eBook   link   from   the   I   want   to…   list.
Now   try   these   tasks:
•
Search   the   Library   Catalogue   to   find   the   book   ‘Use   Your   Head’   by   Tony   Buzan.
Add   this   book   to   the   Book   List   by   clicking   on   the   ‘Mark’   tick   box.
•
Start   a   new   search   to   find   books   on   the   subject   of   social   policy.
Select   any   one   of   the   books   you   find   and   click   on   the   ‘Mark’   tick   box   to   add   it   to   your   List.
•
Start   a   new   search   to   find   the   ‘Economist’   journal.
Add   the   details   of   this   journal   to   your   Book
List   by   clicking   on   the   ‘Mark’   tick   box.
•
Click   on   the   ‘Print   or   email   marked   records’   link.
Using   the   File   menu,   Save   As…   option   of   your   browser,   save   your   Book   List   to   your   user   workspace   as   a   text   file   (.txt)   naming   it   Trial   List.
You   can   find   out   more   information   on   how   to   search   for   books,   journals   and   other   resources   for   your   coursework   from:
•
The   Base    http://www.gcu.ac.uk/library/studentservices/thebase/http://www.gcu.ac.uk/learnersup port/thebase.html
•
Sessions   with   Your   Librarian   http://www.gcu.ac.uk/library/studentservices/yourlibrarian/
Task   2
Finding   Databases
Go   back   to   http://www.gcu.ac.uk/library
Go   to   the   web   page   that   lists   Databases   (choose   the   Search   a   database   link   from   the   I   want   to…   list.)
Find   the   name   of   a   database   relevant   to   your   own   subject   area.
Write   the   name   of   the   database   here:
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Searching   for   Information
Task   3
Finding   Gateways
Go   back   to   http://www.gcu.ac.uk/library
Use   a   Subject   Guide   (choose   the   Find   subject   guides   link   from   the   I   want   to…   list)   to   find   a   useful   website   or   an   Internet   Gateway   relevant   to   your   own   subject   area.
Write   the   name   and   the   web   address   of   the   website   below.
How   to:
How   to   renew   Your   Books
To   avoid   fines   return   or   renew   books   on   time.
To   log   into   your   Library   account   click   on   the   link   on   the   right   hand   side   on   the   Library   Catalogue   webpage   (see   Figure   2 ).
Click   on   Renew   My   Loans .
You   will   be   asked   for   your   Library   number,   which   is   the   long   number   on   your   Matriculation   card,   or   your   Matric   Number   (Student   ID)   and   your   Library   PIN   number   (see   Figure   3 ).
Your   library   PIN   has   been   sent   to   you   by   email.
It   is   also   available   on   my.Caledonian
under   My   Library   Details   in   the   Me(student)   tab.
Click   on   List   Items   on   Loan   to   see   the   books   that   you   have   borrowed.
Figure   3:   Renew   My   Loans   login   page
Once   you   have   logged   in,   follow   the   instructions   on   screen
Please   note   the   new   due   date   displayed.
If   an   item   is   on   hold   for   someone   else,   return   it   promptly.
Select   the   books   you   wish   to   renew   (or   Renew   all ),   then   click   Renew   selected   items.
The   new   due   date   will   display.
Placing/cancelling   a   hold   on   a   book
After   you   have   done   a   search,   if   you   check   Details   and   find   that   all   copies   of   the   book   you   want   are   unavailable,   click   on   the   Place   Hold   link   next   to   the   book.
You   will   be   asked   for   your   Library   number,   which   is   the   long   number   on   your   Matriculation   card,   or   your   Matric   Number   (Student
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Searching   for   Information
ID)   and   your   Library   PIN   number.
When   the   book   is   available   an   email   will   be   sent   to   your   student   email.
You   can   cancel   a   hold   from   the   My   Account   screen   in   the   Library   catalogue.
Choose   Review   My   Account   and   then   click   Holds ,   which   shows   any   outstanding   Holds
(reservations)   for   you,   and   allows   you   to   select   and   cancel.
PIN   Change
You   can   change   your   Library   PIN   number.
To   do   that   click   on   Change   My   PIN   link   on   the   right   hand   side   and   enter   your   old   details   and   then   enter   new   PIN   twice   and   click   Change   PIN .
Fines
If   you   are   not   sure   about   how   our   borrowing   and   fines   system   works,   go   to   our   web   page   at   http://www.gcu.ac.uk/library/studentservices/fines/
This   page   also   has   a   library   form   for   fines   and   disputes.
You   can   use   this   if   you   think   you   have   been   treated   unfairly.
Using   a   Search   Engine   to   Search   the   Internet
Open   a   Web   Browser   (for   example   Internet   Explorer,   Chrome   or   Mozilla   Firefox).
Type   the   web   address   of   your   preferred   search   engine   into   the   address   bar   of   the   browser,   there   are   many   search   engines,   a   few   of   the   more   commonly   used   ones   are:
GOOGLE   –   http://www.google.co.uk
YAHOO   –   http://www.yahoo.co.uk
and
BING   –   http://www.bing.com/
After   you   finish   typing   press   Enter      key   on   the   keyboard.
The   web   page   will   open   displaying   the   search   engine   home   page   ready   for   the   insertion   of   the   search   query.
Saving   the   Results   of   a   Web   Search   as   a   File
When   you   have   carried   out   a   search   for   information   on   the   Web   using   a   Search   Engine   it   is   sometimes   useful   to   keep   the   results   of   your   search   for   future   reference,   or   to   include   them   in   another   document.
The   results   of   a   Web   search   can   be   saved   as   several   different   types   of   file.
The   main   ones   you   are   likely   to   select   will   be   either:
• a   complete   Web   page   (with   extension   .
htm   or   .
html)
• an   HTML   file   (with   extension   .
htm   or   .
html)
• a   Web   Archive   file   (with   extension   .
mht)
• a   text   file   (with   extension   .
txt).
Note :   The   size   of   these   files   varies   with   complete   Web   page   usually   being   the   largest   in
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Searching   for   Information   size,   to   the   text   file   being   the   smallest.
Once   you   have   searched   for   the   required   information   using   a   Search   Engine   and   the   results   of   the   search   are   displayed   on   screen:
•
From   the   File   menu,   select   Save   As…   The   Save   Web   Page   dialogue   box   will   appear.
Use   the   the   right ‐ hand   side   of   the   Save   Webpage   dialogue   box   to   navigate   your   computer   and   locate   an   appropriate   disk/folder   to   save   the   Web   search   into   (you   can   also,   if   you   wish,   create   a   new   folder   from   this   dialogue   box   to   save   the   data   in).
•
Type   an   appropriate   name   for   the   Web   search   in   the   File   name   box.
•
Use   the   downward   arrow   b   at   the   right ‐ hand   side   of   the   Save   as   type   box   to   select   how   you   wish   to   save   the   Web   search   –   choose   either   Web   page   complete   or   text   file.
•
Once   you   have   specified   a   location   to   save   the   file   in,   given   it   a   name,   and   specified   the   type   of   file,   click   the   Save   button.
To   see   the   results   of   a   previous   search   from   the   browser,   select   File ,   Open   and   then   Browse   to   find   and   select   the   saved   search   file.
Task   4
Start   an   Internet   browser   (such   as   Internet   Explorer).
Using   a   Search   Engine   of   your   choice   (e.g.
Google,   Yahoo,   Bing   etc.)   search   the   Internet   for   the
Scottish   Tourist   Board   site.
Save   the   results   of   your   search   (not   the   Tourist   Board   web   site   itself)   as   a   Web   Page,   HTML   only   type   file   in   your   user   workspace.
Give   the   file   the   name   Search   Result   1.
Task   5
Carry   out   a   second   search   using   a   different   Search   Engine.
This   time   you   are   searching   for   the   web   site   of   the   Scottish   Government .
Save   the   results   of   your   search   (not   the   Scottish   Government   web   site   itself)   as   a   Text   file   in   your   user   workspace.
Give   the   file   the   name   Search   Result   2
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