CSU Libraries > How Do I > Galileo > Known Item Searching in EBSCO (and other databases)

Known Item Searching in EBSCO (and other databases)

Known item searching is a necessity when you have an incomplete reference (which still happens even in these days of full text) or when someone has given you a partial reference for an article.

Unlike other forms of searching the object of a known item search is to retrieve only one item. To do this you need to pick out the characteristics of your item that seem unusual.

1. Look over your reference. You should have most of a title and most of an author's name. Some references are more complete and accurate than others. Pick an unusual combination of either an author's last name and a word from the title, or two words from the title. These are your search terms.
2. Bring up EBSCO Academic Search Premier .
3. Click on the blue Advanced Search tab in the teal green bar near the top of the screen.
4. Set the scroll bar in the right hand box of the top row to TI Title.
   
   
5. Set the scroll bar in the right hand box of the second row to either Author or Ti Title.
   
   
6. Put a word from the title in the top left hand box and either an author's last name or another word from the title in the second left hand box. Then click the search button to start your search.
7. A good search yields only a handful of references.
8. An excellent search yields only a single reference that is exactly the one you want.
9. If you get zero references, alter your search strategy or try a different database. The advanced Search in ProQuest Research Library works in much the same way as Advanced Search in EBSCO, but ProQuest covers different journals.
10. If a different database or search strategy fails to work, ask a librarian for help.

EHK -- October 2004