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SuperSearch

• What is SuperSearch?
• When to use SuperSearch
• How to Use SuperSearch
• SuperSearch Tutorial

What is SuperSearch?

SuperSearch allows you to search multiple databases simultaneously from a single search interface. It searches over 20 of the Libary's major mostly full text databases* and journal collections. You can choose to search all resources in a subject category or categories, or select individual databases.
*Note: some of the databases, eg., Proquest and Expanded Academic, are not completely full text, so some of your results may only link to the citation and abstract.

1 September 2005. At present there is a problem with some of the databases searchable via SuperSearch. These include Expanded Academic, Health Reference Center and the Informit databases (eg. AGIS, Australian Public Affairs Full Text, Australian Family, etc.). However, all of these databases are able to be searched individually from links on the Databases page. The problem has been reported, and we apologise for any inconvenience caused.

When to use SuperSearch

SuperSearch is useful for getting an overview of a topic, and for finding which database is the most useful for your topic area. For more specific and in-depth searching, it is better to use the individual databases. See the Database Subject list for links to these databases, as well as others not covered by SuperSearch.

You can search by keyword, title, author or subject. Be careful if using subject, as not all databases use the same subject terms for the same topic area, and some databases do not use a subject index at all.

Using SuperSearch

Simple searching

• Select one or more subject categories, e.g., All Architecture, All Sciences, etc.; or select individual databases, e.g., Annual Reviews, Blackwell Science and ScienceDirect.
• Select the kind of search, Keyword, Author, Title, or Subject
• Type in your search terms, and press Enter, or click Search

If you wish to change the number of results displayed on each page, or the number of results from each resource, then scroll to the bottom of the page, and change the default options (10 for both) before clicking Search.

Viewing the Results
The table at the top of the results screen shows the progress of the search for each resource, as well as listing the total number of hits on your search term(s). Scroll down to see the first page of results.

To view an article, click on the URL link, and you will be taken to full text, if available. Note: Some of the resources searched by SuperSearch do not have complete full text content, so you may only find the citation and abstract record..

Advanced Searching

Advanced Search allows you to do more complex searching involving several search terms. For example:

Need more information on using SuperSearch?
See the tutorial