Using the Search Screen

Upon connecting to PsycCrawler, you will see the Search Screen displayed. Think of this screen as the point from which you will coordinate most of your search activities. You will use it to enter queries, initiate searches, activate advisors, and perform concept searching.

Selecting Databases to Search

The first quadrant of the Search Screen comprises a list of databases available for searching. You can select/deselect active databases (i.e., those included in the current search) by clicking their associated checkboxes. Searching multiple databases simultaneously is known as virtual database searching.

Entering Search Queries

In searching a database, you will enter a single query or a series of queries in the horizontal text box in the second quadrant of the Search Screen. A query is a word or phrase that describes the information you are seeking. A query word is a continuous string of characters containing-with the exception of search operators-no spaces or punctuation marks.

PsycCrawler is not case-sensitive in accepting queries. You can enter query words in upper-case, lower-case, or a combination of the two.

Editing of queries in the Search Screen is consistent with most text-editing conventions. The Delete and Backspace keys function normally; you can manually position the cursor to insert text; you can select a range of characters by dragging the cursor, etc.

Controlling Search Conditions

With the radio buttons in the third quadrant of the Search Screen, you can choose between standard and concept searching or activate one of PsycCrawler's advisors.

Setting a Maximum Duration for a Search

From the pull-down list in the fourth quadrant of the Search Screen, you can select the "wait time" limit for your search. This limit is the maximum amount of time that you will have to wait before PsycCrawler displays the results of your search. If PsycCrawler is unable to retrieve records from an active database within the time limit, those results will be omitted from the Search Results Screen.

Launching a Search

Once you have entered a query, you launch a search for records containing those words by clicking the Get Results button.

Canceling a Search in Progress

Should you wish to interrupt a search in progress, you can halt the ongoing transfer of page information using the method standard to your Web browser (e.g., clicking NCSA Mosaic's logo, clicking Netscape Navigator's Stop button, etc.)

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