One Stop Search
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One Stop Search is a service called a "federated search solution". That's a fancy way of saying you can search multiple databases all at once. Feel free to pick and choose the specific databases you would like for your own custom search. You can also add the library catalog to your search! In the past, if there were multiple databases to choose from, you would have to repeat your search in each database one at a time. You might not even think to try a particular database for your research.
With OneStop Search we have created categories you can choose or search all the databases at once. Choose from categories like Biography, Science, Magazine Articles, or Children’s. There are a few databases that do not work well or lend themselves to federated searching, so they are not included. You'll see a list of them at the end of this page. [Unfortunately, there's no snazzy YouTube video to entertain you before you jump in.]
Let's get started!
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Try a search using All Databases. Try a search using a phrase with and then without quotes. See any difference in results? One of the tricky things about database searching is that each one has its own rules for search. You often have to try several variations to get what you're looking for.
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Sort your results for one of your searches by the number of hits.
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Now try the same search by just going to the specific database that had the most hits
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Here are the databases that are not included in One Stop Search. Choose one of them and try a search. Can you think of a reason why the database you chose would not be included in One Stop Search?
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Write a post about your experience. When do you think it would be better to use One Stop Search than going to a specific database? Did any of the databases that had hits surprise you? Did the database that had the most information surprise you?
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