ProQuest Tutorial
Designed by Tatiana Shabelnik &
Marco Carrillo
ProQuest Tutorial
Welcome to E-Learning Tutorial – How to Search ProQuest Database.
In this tutorial you are going to learn how to search ProQuest
database for articles on different topics.
ProQuest is an extensive periodicals and newspapers database
covering social issues, business, health, science, economics, current
events and more. Over 2200 full-text journal titles plus the full text of
the Los Angeles Times and New York Times.
This e-learning tutorial consists of different modules.
You will learn how to:

INTRODUCTION

MODULE 1 - ProQuest: Logon On/Off campus procedures

MODULE 2 - Conduct a ProQuest Search – Basic

MODULE 3 - Conduct a ProQuest Search – Advanced

MODULE 4 - Advanced Search “MORE SEARCH OPTIONS”
- Search for Editorials & Commentaries

MODULE 5 - Topics & Publications Guide TAB Search

MODULE 6 - Managing Your Articles

MODULE 7 - Citing articles within Proquest

MODULE 8 – Advanced Searching Techniques
»
»
»
»
»
Search Syntax
Defining your search word or phrase
Precedence and Parentheses
Using Search Fields
Target your Database
Welcome to E-Learning Tutorial MODULE 1 –
How To logon
to ProQuest
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOME (SLO) of this module is to learn how
to:
1) Logon to ProQuest from on-campus
2) Logon to ProQuest from off-campus between 8am and midnight
3) Logon from off-campus between midnight and 8am
Welcome to E-Learning Tutorial MODULE 1 –
How To logon
to ProQuest
Let’s Begin
•Start your Web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox or Safari)
• Go to the Rio Hondo College Library web site at
http: library.riohondo.edu
• In section RESEARCH & FIND under ARTICLES click on ProQuest
There are 3 ways to access ProQuest:
You can access ProQuest from On-campus, from Off-campus between 8
am and midnight and from Off-campus between midnight and 8am
MODULE 1 -
To logon to ProQuest
If you are accessing ProQuest from Rio Hondo College Library or from
anywhere on-campus, click on “On-campus users click here.” You will be
prompted to an Advanced Search screen by default.
Welcome to MODULE 1 –
How To logon to ProQuest
If you accessing ProQuest from off-campus between 8 am and 12
midnight, click on “Off-campus users click here”. You will see the following
screen:
MODULE 1 -
To logon to ProQuest
Enter your student ID or Soc. Ser. No. number and password
(Your password is your birthday unless you’ve changed it in RioWEB.
Enter birthdays as: Aug 1, 1975 is 080175 and you will be prompted to
this screen. Scroll down and select ProQuest title link. You will arrive to the
Advanced search screen.
MODULE 1 -
To logon to ProQuest
If you are accessing ProQuest from off-campus between midnight and
8 am, click on “Off campus users (midnight – 8 am)
You will be asked for a password. Please call to the Reference Desk
at (562) 908-3484 to obtain the password. After you enter the password,
you will see the following screen:
MODULE 1 -
To logon to ProQuest
From this screen you will see that there are 8 databases that you
can access off campus between midnight and 8am.
To access ProQuest or any of the databases click on the URL and
enter the account and password provided. Again you will be
prompted to the Advance search screen.
MODULE 1 -
To logon to ProQuest
IN THIS MODULE YOU LEARNED HOW TO:
1) Logon to ProQuest from on-campus
2) Logon to ProQuest from off-campus between 8am and midnight
3) Logon from off-campus between midnight and 8am
In MODULE 2 you
will learn how to do a Basic
Search in ProQuest
At Rio Hondo College Library ProQuest is defaulted to an Advanced Search. To
switch to a Basic Search, click on ”Basic” tab
Basic Search is an ideal way to get started with ProQuest. Just think of a keyword or
phrase related to the information you're looking for and type it into the search field.
Let’s search for a topic Genetically Modified Foods. Before we click on search let’s look
how you can focus your search.
In MODULE 2 you
will learn how to do a Basic
Search in ProQuest
The Database field lets you limit your search to a specific
database available from ProQuest. The default for this field is
multiple databases.
If you want to search a database in a specific field, select the field
from the drop-down menu. In our example we will search multiple
databases
In MODULE 2 you
will learn how to do a Basic
Search in ProQuest
The default for the Date Range field is All dates, which searches all
information in the current databases. To limit your search, select the
desired date range from the drop-down menu.
If you are looking for articles published in the past 7 days, click on
“Last 7 days”
If you want to search for Full text documents ONLY, click on “Full
text documents only.”
In MODULE 2 you
will learn how to do a Basic
Search in ProQuest
Check this box to search only scholarly journals, including peer-reviewed
journals.
Leave the box empty to include other sources in your search.
A publication is considered to be scholarly if it is authored by academics for
a target audience that is mainly academic, the printed format isn't usually a
glossy magazine, and it is published by a recognized society with academic
goals and missions.
A publication is considered to be peer reviewed if its articles go through an
official editorial process that involves review and approval by the author's
peers (people who are experts in the same subject area.) Most (but not all)
scholarly publications are peer reviewed.
Click on “Search”. Let’s look at the results page.
In MODULE 2 you
will learn how to do a Basic
Search in ProQuest
On the results page ProQuest offers you Suggested Topics as an alternative
for your search. We retrieved 13457 documents on Genetically Modified
Foods.
All sources include:
- Scholarly Journals
- Magazines
- Trade Publications
- Newspapers
- Reference & Reports
- Dissertations
- Working papers
If you want articles from Newspapers only, click on the tab Newspapers
In MODULE 2 you
will learn how to do a Basic
Search in ProQuest
From the list of citations select the ones that you are interested in. As you
can see, some of the articles have Abstract only option and some have
Abstract & Full-text. Your best option is to choose articles that have full-text
available.
You can click on the title of the article and it will take you to the document
view page.
Here you have an option to:
Print
E-mail
Copy-link or
Cite the article.
In MODULE 2 you
will learn how to do a Basic
Search in ProQuest
There are ways to focus your search. Some options are only available after
clicking on More Search Options tab
Let’s explore MORE SEARCH OPTIONS tab
By default PUBLICATION TITLE field is empty.
To limit your search to a specific publication, enter the publication's title. Or
click Look up publications to select a title from a list of the available
publications.
Enter an author's name to limit your search to articles written by a specific
author or reviewer.
You can enter the author's name in any order. Searching the author field for
John A. Smith produces the same results as searching for Smith, John A.
You can enter multiple author's names, separating them by AND to find
articles by two authors.
In MODULE 2 you
will learn how to do a Basic
Search in ProQuest
Select Citation and abstract from the drop-down menu to search only within the
citations and abstracts in ProQuest. Select Citation and document text to
search within the complete text of the article, the citation fields, and the abstract.
Searching in Citation and abstract is more likely to find articles whose main
focus meets your search terms. Searching in Citation and document text will
find more articles, because it will find articles that mention your search terms
anywhere within the article.
When you search just the citations and abstracts, ProQuest searches the
following fields:
Author
Personal Name
Abstract
Product Name
Document Title
Subject Terms
Company Name
Source (publication title)
Geographical Name
In MODULE 2 you
will learn how to do a Basic
Search in ProQuest
By default, ProQuest searches all document types. To limit your
search to a specific document type (for example, annual report, book,
editorial or commentary), select that document type from the dropdown menu.
Another option to limit is by publication types. Under the Exclude from
Results you can exclude Book Reviews, Dissertations or
Newspapers.
In MODULE 2 you
will learn how to do a Basic
Search in ProQuest
Sort Results field lets you select how you want your results
sorted. The options that are available here depend on the
database or databases you are currently searching. For
example, you may be able to sort records by most relevant, or
to display the most recent first.
Select the desired search order from the drop-down menu.
Welcome to MODULE 3 –
How to Search ProQuest:
Advanced
At Rio Hondo College Library ProQuest search is defaulted to
an Advanced Search.
MODULE 3 -
Advanced Search
Advanced Search form helps you build focused searches.
If you click on the box labeled “Citation and abstract,” a drop-down list
will display, showing you which fields are available for searching.
To select a field to search, simply highlight it with your cursor and
mouse click.
MODULE 2 -
Searching ProQuest
Let’s look at the Subject Search.
Subject Search
Searches subject or descriptor field only
It uses only controlled terminology (may be from a Thesaurus)
You retrieve many relevant items
The retrieval is low
If you want to do a keyword search, select from the drop-down menu
citation & abstract or citation and document text.
Keyword Search
Searches subject, title, author, content and abstract fields
You may search for any significant terms
You may retrieve many irrelevant items
High number of retrieval
MODULE 3 -
Advanced Search
Searching in Citation and abstract
whose main focus meets your
Citation and document text will
will find articles that mention your
the article.
is more likely to find articles
search terms. Searching in
find more articles, because it
search terms anywhere within
MODULE 3 –
Advanced Search: Databases
If you click on the box labeled “Database,” a drop-down list will display the
databases available through ProQuest. You can either search an
individual database by selecting it from the drop-down menu, or you
may search all the databases simultaneously by using the default
option – Multiple Databases
MODULE 3 -
Scholarly Journals, Peer-reviewed option
If you would like to limit your search by
full-text documents only, check the
box “Full-text documents only”
Check “Scholarly journals, including
peer-reviewed” box to search only
scholarly or peer-reviewed
journals. Leave the box empty to
include other sources in your
search.
A publication is considered to be
scholarly if it is authored by
academics for a target audience
that is mainly academic. A
publication is considered to be
peer reviewed if its articles go
through an official editorial process
that involves review and approval
by the author's peers.
MODULE 3 -
Searching ProQuest: Example 1
Let’s look at the following example
You have a citation for an article and want to find this article in ProQuest
using Document title, Author, and Publication title menu options
Hacking, Jan. “Genetics, biosocial groups & the future of identity.”
Daedalus. Boston: Fall 2006.Vol.135. Iss. 4; pg. 81, 15 pgs
MODULE 3 –
View and obtain copies of articles
ProQuest provides you with a citation, abstract & full-text of the
article in html & PDF formats.
Citation/Abstract
The citation provides bibliographic information about the
article, such as author, title, publication name, publication date,
volume, issue and pagination.
The abstract is a brief summary of the article.
Full Text
Full-text versions of articles include the citation and abstract, along
with the complete text of the article.
To retrieve your document in full-text you can click on Full-text in
html format or in PDF format.
MODULE 3 –
View and obtain copies of articles
To view an article, click on its title.
MODULE 3 –
View and obtain copies of articles
In the Document view page you will see the citation, abstract and full-text of the
article.
You have options to print, e-mail, copy link or cite this article.
Let’s click on “Cite this “
MODULE 3 –
View and obtain copies of articles
From the drop-down menu select citation style. In our case select MLA format.
As recommended in red, Insert Library name (Rio Hondo College Library), City
(Whittier), State (CA)
MODULE 3 -
Searching ProQuest: Example 2
Let’s look at another example. Let’s say you are doing research on a topic
“Business ethics” and specifically you would like see how it was handled
at Enron. You are interested to retrieve Full-text documents ONLY
published in Newspapers.
MODULE 3 -
Searching ProQuest: Example 2
Type Enron on the first line and from the drop-down menu select Citation &
Abstract. On the second line type Business ethics and from the dropdown menu select citation and abstract. Check “Full-text documents
only”
MODULE 3 -
Searching ProQuest: Example 2
Click on More Search Options box, select Publication Type: from the
drop-down menu select Newspapers. Click on Search
MODULE 3 –
Managing your articles
On the Results page you will see Suggested topics to expand or narrow your search.
To keep a record of the documents that you found useful, click in the
box next to the document's title and number. ProQuest adds that document to
the Marked Documents section of your Marked List.
MODULE 3 –
Managing your articles
Select articles 1 and 3.
The Sort results by drop-down menu lets you select sorting
methods. You have two choices: to sort by most recent first or by most
relevant first.
Click on Marked items to display articles that you selected.
MODULE 3 –
Managing your articles
You will be taken to My Research page.
On this page you have options to:
- create your bibliography
- e-mail marked documents with a bibliography
- export citations (not applicable to Rio Hondo College students)
- you also have an option to create a web page with links to your articles,
searches & publications
MODULE 3 – Explore More Search Options tab
More Search Options tab gives you an opportunity to limit your search
by:
• publication title
• subject
• company/organization
• person
• location
• classification code
• NAICS code
• document feature
• document type
• publication type
MODULE 3 – Explore More Search Options tab
By default, Publication Title field is empty. To limit your
search to a specific publication, enter the publication's title or click
Look up publications to select a title from a list of the available publications.
Enter a subject, or click Look up subjects to open the Look Up Subjects
window. The terms in the Look Up Subjects window are listed in alphabetical
order, making it easy for you to browse them. Scan the list for the term you
want to use for your search. You can also search for a term. Enter the term in
the box and click Find Term. You will be taken to the nearest match (alphabetically).
If you reach the end of a page and haven't come to the term you want,
just click Next to move to the next page. When you've found the word you're
looking for, click Add to Search to add the term to your current search.
MODULE 3 – Explore More Search Options tab
Let’s look at the example. You want to find articles on Global Warming
published in Los Angeles Times.
Enter Global Warming phrase into the search field.
Select Full text documents only
Click on MORE SEARCH OPTIONS tab.
Under Publication Title click on Look up Publications
MODULE 3 – Explore More Search Options tab
MODULE 3 – Explore More Search Options tab
Select “Los Angeles Times” and click on Add to Search
Click on Search
MODULE 3 – Explore More Search Options tab
If you are doing research on a specific company,
enter a company's name, or click Look up companies to open the Look Up
Companies window. If you reach the end of a page and haven't come to
the term you want, just click Next to move to the next page. When you've
found the word you're looking for, click Add to Search to add the term to
your current search.
MODULE 3 – Explore More Search Options tab
To limit your search to articles or profiles about a specific person,
enter a name.
You can enter the name in any order. Searching the field for John A. Smith
produces the same results as searching for Smith, John A. Or click
Look up people to open the Look Up People window.
The names in the Look Up People window are listed in alphabetical order,
making it easy for you to browse them. Scan the list for the name you want to
add to your search.
You can also search for a name. Enter the name in the box and click Find Term.
You will be taken to the nearest match (alphabetically). If you reach the end
of a page and haven't come to the name you want, just click Next to move to
the next page. When you've found the word you're looking for, click
Add to Search to add the name to your current search.
MODULE 3 – Explore More Search Options tab
Classification codes let you search business-targeted databases
such as ABI/INFORM, Banking Information Source, and ABI/INFORM
Dateline. The classification codes segment these databases into broad
topical areas. When you use the codes with search words, classification
codes are a fast way to precisely target a search by topic, industry or
market, geographical area, or article type.
Enter a classification code or click Look up classification codes
to use the Look Up Classification Codes window.
MODULE 3 –
Managing your articles
North American Industry Classification System codes classify documents
by industry based on the primary activities of the organization.
NAICS codes let you search for articles on a specific industry.
Enter a NAICS code or a SIC code. You can also click Look up NAICS
codes to use the Look Up NAICS codes window.
MODULE 3 –
Managing your articles
Document Feature is used to search document features, such as
an index or auxiliary materials, that may be included in or accompany
a document.
As for Document Type, by default, ProQuest searches all document
types.
To limit your search to a specific document type (for example,
bibliography, book chapter, or journal article), select that document type
from the drop-down menu.
MODULE 3 : More
Search Options box in Advanced
Search
Open ProQuest in Advanced Search mode.
Type your keyword search into the text box:
“national security” and terrorism. Click on
More Search Options
Under Document Type from a drop down
menu make a choice what types of
documents you are looking for:
editorials, commentaries, literature review or
other.
Click on Search button.
In our example we are going to search for
editorials.
An editorial is a a statement or article by
a news organization (generally a
newspaper) that expresses an opinion
rather than attempting to simply report
news. Editorials are not written by the
regular reporters; rather, they are
collectively authored by a group of
individuals called the editorial board,
which represents the newspapers official
position on the issues.
MODULE 4 –
How to Use Topic Guide Tab
With the ProQuest Topic Guide you can find articles by searching an index,
or by exploring a hierarchical subject directory. Indexed topics may
include subjects, companies, people, and locations. This approach is
useful when you're new to searching online or when you're looking for
information on a general topic.
Click on the tab “Topics”
Enter a term and select whether you want ProQuest to Suggest Topics or
Look up Topics A-Z, then click Find Term. In our example, we choose
Suggest Topics
Enter your
Search
terms here.
MODULE 4 –
How to use Topics Guide Tab
With the ProQuest Topic Guide you can find articles by searching an index,
From suggested topics select a
topic of your interest. For
example, ‘Genetically altered
foods.’ Then click on either
‘View documents’ or ‘Narrow
by related topic’ as needed.
From the narrowed list, find a
term you want to use and click
View.
MODULE 5 –
How to use Publication Search Tab
Publication search allows you to view the content of a particular publication. You
can look for a specific publication or look at the articles in a particular issues
of a magazine, journal or newspaper.
Please click on the publications tab to
begin searching…
MODULE 5 -
Publication Search: Los Angeles Times
Example: If you enter into the search field ‘los angeles times.’ Two
records should appear, choose one with the date range you are
interested in.
Enter your
Search
terms here.
Select the
appropriate
date range.
MODULE 5 -
Publication Search: Los Angeles Times
Once selected, you can either search for articles on a specific topic within LA
Times or browse the content of this publication by date.
Enter your
Search
terms here.
Or browse
by date.
MODULE 6 –
Cite ProQuest articles
Remember to cite your sources based on MLA or APA style.
ProQuest can provide you with citations to your articles.
- Mark your selected articles by checking the box next to the article on the
Search Results page
- Click on “My Research." This will take you to the Marked List page.
MODULE 6 –
Cite ProQuest articles
Click on Create your bibliography
MODULE 6 –
Cite ProQuest articles
Select Citations only and MLA and click Download, Print or Email
depending on what you would like to do.
MODULE 6 –
Cite ProQuest articles
ProQuest will generate a bibliography for you.
MODULE 7 –
Search Syntax
? - Wildcard: Stands in for one character in or at the end of a word.
Example: Searching for educat?? will find articles that contain
"educated" and "educator." But it won't find "education," which
contains more than two letters following "educat."
* - Truncation: Stands in for any number of characters, including
none, at the end of a word. Example: Searching for comput* will
find articles that contain "computer," "computerized," or
"computers."
"…“ - Quotation Marks: Search words must appear exactly as
typed. Example: Searching for "business process" will find
business process articles, but not about the process of starting a
business.
MODULE 7 –
Search Syntax
(..)
Parentheses: Whatever is inside the parentheses is
searched first, then those results are searched with the words
outside the parentheses.
Example: Searching for Federal Reserve OR (U.S. AND
economic policy) finds articles dealing with either the Federal
Reserve or articles containing both the words "U.S." and "economic
policy."
AND
AND: Both the search words before and after AND must
appear in the article. AND narrows your search.
Example: Searching for El Nino AND Atlantic Ocean will only find
articles that mention both El Nino and Atlantic Ocean.
OR
OR: Either the words before or after OR can appear in the
article. OR broadens your search.
Example: Searching for El Nino OR Atlantic Ocean will find
articles that mention either El Nino or Atlantic Ocean.
MODULE 7 –
Search Syntax
AND NOT
AND NOT: The search words before AND NOT
must appear in the article, but the words after must not.
Example: Searching for El Nino AND NOT Atlantic Ocean gives
you articles on El Nino, excluding those which also mention Atlantic
Ocean.
PRE/n Precede By: The first search word must precede the
second by n words to match. This is useful for phrase searching.
Example: Searching for U.S. PRE/5 economic policy finds articles
on many types of American economic policy, such as U.S. foreign
aid economic policy, or U.S. wartime economic policy.
MODULE 7 –
Defining your Search Word or Phrase
When You Need More Articles
Try broadening your search by switching from Search in: Citation
and Abstract to Search in: Article Text in Basic or Advanced
Search Methods.
Uppercase or Lowercase Letters?
Search statements are not case sensitive. A search for Federal
Reserve Board will find the same articles as federal reserve
board in Basic, Advanced and Publication Search Methods.
Searching Two-Word Phrases
Two-word searches are treated as an exact phrase. A search for
Federal Reserve will find articles in which the word Federal
immediately precedes the word Reserve.
MODULE 7 –
Defining your Search Word or Phrase
About Longer Phrases
When you enter three or more words in the search field, they are
searched in proximity. A search for Federal Reserve system will
find articles in which the terms Federal, Reserve and system
appear within a 250-word block.
Searching Exact Phrases
Use quotation marks to search exact phrases that are three or more
words in length (for example “Federal Reserve system”.)
Quotation marks also let you include Stop Words in your search.
A search for fire and brimstone will be interpreted as asking
ProQuest to find articles containing both the word fire and the word
brimstone within a 250-word block. The search “fire and
brimstone” will be interpreted as a command to find that exact
phrase.
MODULE 7 –
Defining your Search Word or Phrase
These Adjacency Operators Limit Your Search
Adjacency operators let your control how closely the two search words
are positioned to each other in the articles ProQuest finds. Using an
adjacency operator limits your search results, because you’re
constraining what constitutes a match. This Operator:
Within
education W/5 internet
Articles where the first search term appears within 5 words of the
second search term.
Not Within
mississippi NOT W/3 river
Articles where the first search term does NOT appear within 3 words of
the second search term.
Preceded by european PRE/2 community
Articles where the first search term appears 2 words before the second
search term.
Within Doc
baseball W/Doc michael jordan
Articles where both search terms appear somewhere in the document.
MODULE 7 –
Precedence and Parentheses
ProQuest interprets your search from left to right. However, it
observes an order of precedence with respect to operators.
OR has precedence over AND
ProQuest gives the OR operator precedence over the AND
operator. This means, if you enter cat AND dog OR pet,
ProQuest interprets the search as cat AND (dog OR pet). All
the articles your search finds will contain the word cat, and will
also contain the word dog, the word pet, or the words dog and
pet.
MODULE 7 –
Precedence and Parentheses
Using Parentheses
You can change the order of precedence for your search by
using parentheses. Surrounding terms with parentheses forces
them to be evaluated together. To change the search in the
previous example to find articles that contain both cat and dog
within the same paragraph or articles that contain just pet, add
parentheses: (cat AND dog) OR pet.
MODULE 8 –
Search Tips: Target Your Database
Instead of searching all available databases, limit your search to
databases most likely to contain your information. For example, if you
are searching for articles on ARTS topic, use the ARTS Module.
In Advanced mode click on "Select Multiple Databases"
MODULE 8 –
Search Tips: Target Your Database
Click on "Clear All databases"
MODULE 8 –
Search Tips: Target Your Database
Find PROQUEST RESEARCH LIBRARY and select ARTS
MODULE, then Click CONTINUE
MODULE 8 –
Search Tips: Target Your Database
Looking for articles on Diego Rivera?
You can conduct artist’s name search: Diego Rivera