• Using CSA
• Search basics
• Boolean search
• Truncating terms
• Proximity search
• Choose a date range
• To search or browse by author
• To search by title or journal title
• To view your search results
• To select records
• To email your search results
• To save your search results
• To print your search results
• To begin a new search or exit your current search
• For more help
• Additional hints

1. CSA Illumina databases at CSM include GeoRef, Metadex, NTIS, Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management, Mechanical & Transportation Engineering Abstracts, and Conference Papers Index.  Access is restricted to systems with campus IP addresses. 
2. Open the CSA "Illumina" database search page by selecting a database database from the Database Search Page page (see a Reference Librarian for assistance).
3. To access a different subject area or additional databases, click on the Databases drop-down menu, then choose one Subject Area.  Subject areas include the following categories; Arts & Humanities, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, and Technology.
4. Or you can click on the Select Specific Databases link to show all available databases.  Checkmark the box(es) to select the database(s) you want to search.  Note that you can select and search multiple databases.
5. Click on Continue to Search.

     
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1. Quick Search provides an easy way to start the search process in CSA Illumina.
2. Begin by typing in a word or phrase into the search field.
   Example: concrete
3. Then click on the Search button.
4. You can further limit your search using the Date Range pull-down.
5. Searching is not case sensitive, so you don't need to use capital letters. Multiple words entered into the search field (e.g., health nutrition), will be treated as a phrase, unless you include Boolean Operators (see following section).

  
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1. Use OR to connect similar terms. OR broadens your search.
   Example: adhesion OR bonding
2. Use AND to connect separate concepts. AND narrows your search.
   Example: friction AND composite

1. Use * to replace one or more characters at the end of a search term.
   Example: composit* (retrieves composite, composites, composition, etc.)
2. Use ? to replace one character.
   Example: carbon fib?? (retrieves carbon fiber, carbon fibre)

• Proximity searches limit the number of words between your search terms.  See the Illumina help pages for further details.
• Use the string "within #" to find terms within a specified radius of words of each other regardless of their order.
  Example: (robot) with 5 (intelligence)
• Use the string "near" to find terms within a specified number of words of each other regardless of their order.
  Example: women near violence

Limit your search by specifying a date range using the drop-lists. The default range is from 1994 through the current year.

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1. Advanced Search makes it easy to perform field-specific searches such as author searches.
2. Type author's last name, or last name and initial(s).
   Example: shaller
   Example: worzala fj
   Example: walker, jm or cannell or smith, rjp
3. If you are unsure of the full spelling of a name, use the truncation symbol *. Example: Robert* retrieves Robert, Roberts, Roberto, Robertson, etc.  The ? symbol can be used in a similar manner to indicate one, and only one, character per ? within the authors name.

• Choose AU= field from the drop-down menu.
• (Optional) Limit your search using available options. 
• Click on Search.

1. Advanced Search makes it easy to perform field-specific searches such as title searches.
2. Type a journal title or part of a journal title.
3. Choose TI= field from the drop-down menu.
4. (Optional) Limit your search using available options. 
5. Click on Search.

1. By default, results appear in a combined list of databases.
2. To show the results for each database, click on the + sign next to the number of results and search the query statement.
3. The expanded list provides the name and amount of records retrieved from each database. You can then limit your results by database by clicking on the hyper-linked numbers to the left of each database name.
4. The default view is the 'All Publication Types' tab. To limit your search by publication type, select one of the tabs or click on More Publication types to see a complete list. When a tab is selected, it will be highlighted in yellow.
5. At the bottom of the search results page, an additional search box is available to refine your original search or submit a new search. Simply enter in the information and click the 'Search' button to retrieve your new set of results.
6. Also available at the bottom of the page is a navigation menu. The navigation feature allows you to view another page of records or to use the Record # box to go to a specific record number.

    
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1. Checkmark the box to the left of the record for later printing, downloading or emailing.
2. Click on Save/Print/Email Records when you have finished selecting your items.

1. Click on the Save/Print/Email link at the top of the screen.
2. Choose the appropriate Records set and Record Format.
3. Enter the email address in both Email To: and Sender's Mail Address.
4. Click on Email.

1. Insert a formatted disk into a floppy drive.
2. Click on the Save/Print/Email link at the top of the screen.
3. Choose the appropriate Records set and Record Format.
4. Click on Save.
5. Type the disk drive letter, the filename, and the extension .txt in the File Name box.
   Example: a:myfile.txt
6. Click Save or press ENTER to begin downloading.
7. Click on Cancel to stop downloading at any time.

1. Click on the Save/Print/Email link at the top of the screen. 
2. Choose the appropriate Records set and Record Format.
3. Click on Print.
4. Click on Print at the top of the screen.
5. Click on OK.

1. Scroll down to the bottom of any Results title listing page and enter your new search term(s).

1. Close your browser.

• Click on the Help & Support link at the top of the screen for help.
• For further assistance, consult a reference librarian.

Thesaurus search

Using the Thesaurus, you can browse for terms via a hierarchical, alphabetical, or rotated index display. These display formats allow you to navigate the thesaurus alphabetically or through the hierarchical relationships between terms. After finding appropriate terms, you can submit a search for those terms in the database Descriptors field.

There are many thesauri available to support your database searching. Your thesaurus choice(s) are determined by the database(s) selected, and are displayed in a drop down box. More than one thesaurus may apply to your selection, but you can search only one at a time.

A saved 'Alert' will be used to automatically search your selected databases for new content every week. After Creating a personal account, you will receive an email message that contains up to 250 new records from each database that has new matching content.

Click the History tab to see a list of the searches during your current session in CSA Illumina. Up to fifty current searches are displayed in sequence. When a fifty-first search is submitted, the first search in the sequence will be dropped.

From the History page, you can Edit a search; Save a search by creating a personal account or logging into an existing account (this can be the same account used to save an Alert); Delete a search; Return to Search (clicking this takes you to the search results page with the search strategy) Run the Search; or Save the search as an Alert. You can also combine a search at the bottom of the page.

QuickBib

QuickBib allows CSA Illumina users to easily generate a bibliography of selected database records in some of the most popular bibliographic styles. The available bibliographic styles include:

• AMA - American Medical Association, 9th Edition
• APA - American Psychological Association, 5th Edition
• APA, Annotated with Abstracts - American Psychological Association, 5 th Edition
• Chicago, 15th Edition (Author-Date System)
• MLA, 6th Edition
• MLA, 6th Edition - with subscriber information
• Turabian (Reference List), 6th Edition
• Uniform - Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals

After running a search and marking records, select the 'Save, Print, Email' link. You can either choose to use your marked records or set a range of records to format for your QuickBib bibliography. Then choose a document format and a bibliographic style for your records. Click on 'Create' and now your bibliography is generated in a new window.