Sample Searches

InfoTrac Custom Newspapers Sample Searches

InfoTrac Custom Newspapers is a newspaper database that lets users electronically search articles by title, headline, date, author, section or other assigned fields. With this database, libraries and other organizations are able to choose titles from a growing list of newspapers from around the world.

Search 1:

A librarian at the Brownell Library wanted to know if there was a way, when using InfoTrac Custom Newspapers, to retrieve the New York Times Book Review section of the paper and search it.

Solution:

1. Entered InfoTrac Custom Newspapers and went to the "Advanced search" page.
2. Clicked on the "Browse" button, selected "New York Times", then clicked on "Submit selections" at the top of the page.
3. Selected "Title (ti)" in the first entry box, then entered "Book Review Desk".
4. Told the librarian that she could then enter desired search terms and limit the search to a desired date or date range.
5. Finally, she could click on the "Search" button, then on "View" to retrieve the records matching her search request.

Search 2:

A customer from Florida using InfoTrac Custom Newspapers wanted to create a link to the most recent editorial articles (after March 2003) in The Palm Beach Post (West Palm Beach, FL) on the war in Iraq and its aftermath.

Solution:

1. Entered InfoTrac Custom Newspapers and went to the "Keyword search" page.
2. Clicked on the "Browse" button, selected "Palm Beach Post (West Palm Beach, FL)", then clicked on "Submit selections" at the top of the page.
3. Entered "Iraq and war" in the "Keyword search" entry box and selected "in title, citation, abstract".
4. Limited by date "after" March 2003.
5. Checked the "Opinion and Editorial" box.
6. Clicked on the "Search" button and retrieved more than 140 articles.
7. The link in the browser address line can be highlighted and copied as a web shortcut to create an InfoMark.

Search 3:

A customer using InfoTrac Custom Newspapers sent an e-mail request wanting to know how to retrieve newspaper articles about Charlton Heston stepping down from the presidency of the National Rifle Association (NRA) due to his Alzheimer's Disease.

Solution:

1. Entered InfoTrac Custom Newspapers and went to the "Keyword search" page.
2. Selected the "Search for words in title, citation, abstract" option.
3. Entered "(Charlton Heston) and (NRA or National Rifle Association) and Alzheimer*" in the entry box.
4. Clicked on the "Search" button and retrieved 33 newspaper articles, 31 of which met the customer's search criteria.
5. The customer was able to mark the 31 desired articles, click on the "View mark list" link to group them together and then e-mail them to himself by clicking on an article and following the "E-Mail Delivery" instructions at the bottom of the article page.

Search 4:

A user of InfoTrac Custom Newspapers wanted to formulate a search strategy that would retrieve news and opinion/editorial articles dealing with U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft's cross-country tour to defend of the Patriot Act in order to allay concerns regarding it.

Solution:

1. Entered InfoTrac Custom Newspapers and went to the "Keyword search" page.
2. Selected the "Search for words in title, citation, abstract" option.
3. Entered "(Patriot Act) and (John Ashcroft)" in the entry box.
4. Limited by date "after" July 2003 and checked the "News" and "Opinion and Editorial" boxes.
5. Clicked on the "Search" button and retrieved more than 110 news and Opinion/Editorial articles meeting the user's request.

Search 5:

A user of InfoTrac Custom Newspapers wanted to find opinion/editorial articles dealing with the California gubernatorial recall election.

Solution:

1. Entered InfoTrac Custom Newspapers and went to the "Keyword search" page.
2. Entered "california recall elect*" in the entry box.
3. Selected the "Search for words in title, citation, abstract" option.
4. Checked the "Opinion and Editorial" box.
5. Clicked on the "Search" button and retrieved more than 50 Opinion/Editorial articles meeting the user's request.