Searching Basics: Onesearch, Filters, and Facets

Start your searching with the library's OneSearch box to find a wealth of scholarly and popular articles and books. This search box can lead you to lots of quality sources. The library homepage defaults to this OneSearch database, which allows you to find full-text articles in addition to print and electronic books.

Use important words from your research question as search terms. Start simple to find out what kinds of sources are available, then use the limiters on the left side of the page to narrow your search to scholarly, peer-reviewed articles or other types of sources. For a basic introduction on using OneSearch, take a look at the ResearchPath Module 3 tutorial.

Learn more about the advanced search options by watching this OneSearch video on our YouTube channel: ISU Libraries. It will connect you to many full-text articles. Click on the PDF or HTML links to download the articles. It’s easy to email, save, cite, or print the articles, so you can move forward with your class projects.

To increase your chances of finding relevant or current articles, you can narrow your search with the appropriate subject headings and by adjusting the date ranges or the date slider.

Many students find it helpful to see the quick abstract view when they hover over the document with the magnifying glass icon.

If you click on the folder icon next to the article titles, after you have selected all the ones that look interesting, you can return to the top of the screen and select “Go to: Folder View” to email, save, or send articles to Google Drive all at once. This all-in-one database searches the majority of our databases. We hope you find OneSearch useful and convenient. Chances are that you will find many high-quality sources.