RWP Help

Reference Web Poster™
is a trademark of the Institute for Scientific Information
copyright Š 1998, Research Information Systems Ž, all rights reserved

Help Index
Quick Search
Advanced Search
Indexed Fields
Non-Indexed Fields
Boolean Search Strategies
Wild Card Searching
Marking References
Full Record Viewing
Show Marked List
Exporting
Buttons and Fields
Troubleshooting
How to Contact Us

Quick Search

Quick Search allows you to locate references through selected database(s) by searching these indexed fields:

Author
Keyword
Periodical
Publication Date

To perform a search in fields such as title or abstract (non-indexed fields), or to perform a combination search of terms located in both indexed and non-indexed fields, you must use the Advanced Search feature.

Quick Search:

Uses any combination of terms from the above fields.
Assumes the "and" Boolean connector which means you do not have to type in the word "and". For example,

Search : All databases
Text to Search for : term1 term2
Performed as term1 and term2.
The assumed Boolean connector finds references in which "term1" AND "term2" appear.

Allows manual entry of the Boolean connectors "or" and "not". For example,

Search : All databases
Text to Search for : term1 or term2
The OR connector finds references in which either term1 OR term2 appear. OR also includes references containing both term1 and term2.

Search : All databases
Text to Search for : term1 not term2
The NOT connector eliminates specific references from your search. It finds references containing term1 but NOT term2.

Performs same line multi Boolean term search. You can use AND, OR, or NOT to include or exclude specific terms. For example,

Search : All databases
Text to Search for : keyword1 and keyword2 not author or year1 or year2

Assumes wild card searches at the end of two or more characters. You do not have to type the asterisk at the end of your term(s). The asterisk character is literal and will be searched for as such.
Terms can be entered partially or entirely. For example, if you search in Keyword the characters "leu" the result will be the same as if you used all terms that begin with "leu", such as: "leukemia", "leukopenia", "leukocyte", "leukotriene", etc. If you type in the asterisk, search will literally look for the asterisk character. This is applicable in all fields.
Is not case sensitive.
Does not require punctuation when entering a string of search terms.
You can place up to 9 search terms in the Text to search for box.
Text to Search for : whales dolphins bottlenosed growth etc.
Multi word Keyword phrase searches, such as "amino acid", need to be surrounded by quotation marks. For example, Text to Search for : "amino acid"
Author names should be entered last name first, followed by first two initials or last name only. For example, to search for Milton Erickson we suggest entering Erickson or Erickson Mi. You will need to use Advanced Search to search a non-indexed field.

Indexed fields versus Non-Indexed fields

Retrieval by an indexed field is faster than retrieval by a word in a non-indexed field. For example, doing a Keyword search, an indexed field, may find five references out of a database of 10,000 in only two or three seconds. A Title search, a non-indexed field, on the same database may take longer.

To begin a Quick Search:

1. Click down arrow at Search. Select one or All databases to search.

2. Enter the Text to Search for : Author(s); Keyword(s); Periodical(s); publication Year(s).

Search : All databases
Text to Search for : whales

3. Click the Start Search button or press enter.

Indexed Fields
Non-Indexed Fields
Booleans
Buttons and Fields
Full Record Viewing
Troubleshooting
Go To Help Index

Advanced Search

Advanced Search works similar to Quick Search. In addition Advanced Search has the ability to search non-indexed fields.

Advanced Search:

Retrieves references using any field that contains data.
Performs phrase searches without double quotation marks. Unlike Quick Search, Advance Search literally searches for the quotation marks.
Performs same line multi Boolean term search. You can use AND, OR, or NOT to include or exclude specific terms. For example,

Search : All databases
Data to Locate: {keyword1} and {keyword2} not {author} or {year1} or {year2}

Tip: Add brackets to surround the terms when executing a multiple Boolean search on the same line.

Data to Locate: {keyword1} not {keyword2} not {author} not {year1} not {year2}

Assumes wild card searches. The wild card asterisk is applicable after two or more characters on a search line. You do not have to type the asterisk at the end of your characters. For example,

Field to Search: Keyword
Data to Locate: leu
Search results would be the same as if you used all terms that begin with "leu", such as: "leukemia", "leukopenia", "leukocyte", "leukotriene", etc.
If you type the asterisk, search will literally look for that character.
This applies to all fields.
Is not case sensitive.
Is sensitive to spelling and spacing. Author name(s) should be entered last name first, followed by the first name initial(s). For example, to search for "Milton Erickson" we suggest entering "Erickson" or "Erickson Mi". Searches may take longer on non-indexed fields.
Punctuation is recognized literally. For example,

Field to Search: Author
Data to Locate: peters,
The comma will bring up the name peters but not any extended spellings such as peterson, petersen, etc.

To begin an Advanced Search:

1. Click down arrow at Search. Select one or All databases to search.

2. Click the down arrow under Field to Search. Click once on your choice.

3. Type in your Data to Locate.

4 . Click down arrow under Boolean. Select a Boolean logical connector.

5. Repeat steps 1 through 4 as needed.

6. Click the Start Search button.

TIP: Press enter will not perform a search within Advanced Search.

Quick Search
Buttons and Fields
Booleans
Full Record Viewing
Troubleshooting
Go To Help Index

Indexed Fields

The Quick Search screen provides the ability to locate references through the selected database(s) in indexed fields. Capitalization does not matter, but spelling and spacing do.

Examples of Indexed fields include:
- Author
- Keyword
- Periodical
- Publication Year

Non-Indexed Fields

Advanced Search provides the ability to search on All non-indexed fields. Advanced Search searches all fields in the selected database(s) allowing you to be more specific in your searches. Capitalization does not matter, but spelling and spacing do.

Examples of Non-Indexed Fields:
- Titles
- Notes
- Abstracts
- Addresses

Quick Search
Advanced Search
Booleans
Troubleshooting
Full Record Viewing
Go To Help Index

Boolean Search Strategies AND, OR, or NOT

You can use Boolean search strategies to include or exclude specific search terms. Within Quick Search you would use them on the same search line. For example, if you want to retrieve all references written by "N. Copernicus" or "D. Fossey" that include the keyword "dolphins". At the Quick Search Text to Search for you would type: "Copernicus" or "Fossey dolphins". The AND Boolean between "Fossey dolphins" is implied. Advanced Search provides drop down menus to select Boolean strategies.

AND
By default, all terms entered are connected with the AND Boolean. This connector finds references in which term 1 AND term 2 appear. If you wish to search for papers written about "whales" which were published in "1997" you need only enter "whales 1997", for example:
Text to Search for : whales 1997
performed as "whales" AND "1997"

Your search should result in a reference similar to the example below.

Your search on whales 1997 resulted in 1 references. Enter a new search

Displaying references 1 through 1 0 references marked

Craig J. Discovering whales and dolphins. New Jersey: Troll Associates; 1990: 1997

OR
The OR connector finds references in which either term 1 OR term 2 appear. OR will also find references containing both terms 1 and 2. OR is useful for finding references pertaining to several topics of interest. Use this Boolean to find all references that are about "whales" or were published in "1997". If you are interested in papers written about "whales" OR "1997" you would enter "whales" OR "1997".
Text to Search for : whales OR 1997

NOT
The NOT connector eliminates specific references from your search. It finds references containing term 1 but NOT term 2. If you are interested in papers written about "whales" that were NOT written in "1997" you would enter "whales" NOT "1997".
Text to Search for : whales NOT 1997

You can place up to 9 search terms in the Text to search for box.
Text to Search for : whales dolphins bottlenosed growth etc.

TIP: Use no punctuation when typing in a Quick Search string of search terms.

Multi Boolean use:

You can use AND, OR, or NOT to include/exclude specific terms. For example,

Search : All databases
from Quick Search,
Text to Search for : keyword1 and keyword2 not author or year1 or year2
from Advanced Search add the brackets,
Data to Locate: {keyword1} and {keyword2} not {author} or {year1} or {year2}

Quick Search
Advanced Search
Full Record Viewing
Troubleshooting
Go To Help Index

Wild Card Searching

Quick Search and Advanced Search both can utilize assumed wild card searches. You do not have to type the asterisk at the end of your term(s). The asterisk character is literal and will be searched for as such. The wild card is assumed after two or more characters in Quick Search. Terms can be entered partially or entirely. For example, if you search in Keyword the characters "leu" the result will be the same as if you used all terms that begin with "leu", such as: "leukemia", "leukopenia", "leukocyte", "leukotriene", etc. If you type in the asterisk, search will literally look for the asterisk character. The wild card is assumed after two or more characters in Advanced Search.

Quick Search
Advanced Search
Booleans
Indexed Fields
Non-Indexed Fields
Troubleshooting
Go To Help Index

Marking References

You may Export references directly to Reference Manager, or ProCite. Or export to a text file to import into other bibliographic management programs such as EndNote (MEDLARS and RIS formats available).

You may mark, or unmark, references individually or Mark All the results of a search. Marking references operates the same in Advanced Search and Quick Search. Marked records are lost after 20 minutes of no program activity.

Buttons

Mark Page : Inserts check marks in the box next to every reference on the current page.

Mark All : Marks all the references you found in a particular search.

Clear Marked List : Clears the check mark from all Marked References.

Save Mark : This button ensures marked references, on the current page, are added to the marked reference list. It is not necessary to use the Save Mark button. All marks are automatically saved whenever you use any of the buttons on the page. You would only need to press the Save Mark button if you wish to go to some other web page not associated with Reference Web Poster, and wish to ensure that your marks are retained.

Quick Search
Advanced Search
Exporting
Go To Help Index

Marked Reference List

After a search has been performed and you have Marked references, Reference Web Poster creates a listing of your marked citations. This list provides you with the ability to view a reference in full, unmark a reference, or export the marked references directly to Reference Manager, ProCite, or as a formatted text file to import into other bibliographic management programs such as EndNote (MEDLARS and RIS formats available).

TIP: It is not necessary to use the Save Mark button. All marks are automatically saved whenever you use any of the buttons on the page. You would only need to press the Save Mark button if you wish to go to another web page not associated with Reference Web Poster, and wish to ensure that your marks are retained.

Buttons and Fields
Marking References
Go To Help Index

Full Record Viewing

To view a complete reference from Advanced Search or Quick Search, click on the Full Record icon to the left of the listed reference. This page displays a detailed view of your reference. Full Record displays one reference at a time. You can mark or unmark from this screen. You cannot edit or Export from the Full Record view.

TIP: To view reference details in Full Record form, from Advanced Search or Quick Search, click once on the full record view icon to the left of the listed reference.

Full Record buttons and fields:

Previous Reference : View the previous reference.

Next Reference : View the next reference.

Back : Returns to the reference list from which you started viewing Full Record.

Help : Displays the online help manual.

Reference # of # : The number of the reference displayed, sequentially listed from the total Reference List.

Marked r : Box to mark or unmark displayed reference.

Marking References
Go To Help Index

Exporting

The Export button gives you the option to export your marked references directly to a Reference Manager, or ProCite database. To Export Directly to Reference Manager, or ProCite you MUST have the RIS Export Plug-In on your computer. You can also Export to a text file to import into other bibliographic management programs, such as EndNote, with the MEDLARS or RIS formats.

TIP: References have to be marked to export.

Direct to [Database Selection]	Export your marked references directly to a Reference Manager v8/v7, or ProCite v4/v3 database. For this option, install the FREE RIS Export Plug-In on your computer.
MEDLARS	Save your marked references to a tagged text file formatted in the National Library of Medicine's MEDLARS format. This format primarily supports journal reference types.
RIS Format	Save your marked references to a tagged text file formatted in Research Informations Systems RIS Format. This format maintains all character formatting such as bold, italics, etc... included in the original reference and supports 35 reference types.

Installing the RIS Export Plug-In:

1. From Export, Direct to click once on RIS Export Plug-In to begin the installation process. You should then see:

RIS Export Plug-In

Export references from the various Web based products and services into your ProCite 4/3 or Reference Manager 8/7 database with the RIS Export Plug-In.

RIS Export Plug-In for Windows

2. Click once on RIS Export Plug-In for Windows. Your next screen should look similar to:

Export Plug-In for ProCite or Reference Manager for Windows

The following is the free plug-in that installs the utility and import filter required to export references from various
Web-based products and services into your Reference Manager v8/7 or ProCite v4/3 for Windows database.
Please read the download and installation instructions below.

3. Follow the on screen download and installation instructions to finish installing the Plug-In.

After you have installed the Plug-In, make your Database Selection, click Direct to to export your references.

TIP: Once you Export your references you may see a message similar to: "Your search on whales resulted in 368 references. But only 350 references exported". Your Reference Web Poster Host determines the number of references you are allowed to export.

Marking References
Go To Help Index

Buttons and Fields

Buttons

Start Search : Once you type in your term(s) click Start Search or press enter to begin searching.

Advanced Search : Toggle button allowing you to switch from the Quick Search screen to the Advanced Search screen.

Quick Search : Toggle button allowing you to switch from the Advanced Search screen to the Quick Search screen.

Database Description : List of database names, types, and topics.

Help : Brings up the online help guide.

Previous Page (gray) : Indicates there is no previous page of listed references.
Previous Page (full color) : Button to take you back to previous page of listed references.

Next Page (gray): Indicates there is no next page of listed references.
Next Page (full color): Button to take you to next page of listed references.

Mark Page : Inserts check marks in the boxes next to references on the current page.

Mark All : Inserts check marks in the boxes next to all the references found in a particular search.

Clear Marked List : From the Show Marked List page, the Clear Marked List button clears the check marks from marked references.

Show Marked List : Displays the references you have check marked from your search results.

Export : Area to export your marked references to a Reference Manager or ProCite database or other bibliographic management database program, such as EndNote. Three export options to choose from are Direct, MEDLARS, RIS Format. See Export for further explanation.

Back : Click Back and you will return to the previous reference page from which you came.

Fields

Search : A drop down menu provides you with database choices. Click the down arrow to view your options. Click once on your choice. Your database selection is now ready for searching.

(#) references marked : Automatic register counting your marked references. The Reference Web Poster Host determines the maximum number for retrieving and exporting references.

Text to Search for : From the Quick Search screen, area you type in your search term(s), with or without inserted Booleans.

Boolean : Search strategy for information retrieval including AND, OR, or NOT.

Field to Search : From the Advanced Search screen, a drop down menu provides you with field search options Authors, Keywords, Periodical, Year, Titles, All indexed fields, and All non-indexed fields. Click the down arrow to the right of the field box to make your selection.

Data to Locate : From Advanced Search, the area your search term(s) is input.

Results : The number of references found, after a search, per "Data to Locate" terms. Click the number under Results to bring up that particular reference listing.

Your search on (term(s)) resulted in (#) references : Displays the term(s) and the number of references found from the Quick Search screen.

Your search resulted in (#) references : Displays the number of references found from the Advanced Search screen.

Enter a new search: From Reference Web Poster, a link that will take you back to Text to Search for in Quick Search. And will take you back to Data to Locate in Advanced Search.

Displaying references (#) through (#) : References displayed on the current page. The maximum number of references that may be displayed on any page is 10.

Current page (#): The page number you are currently on.

Go To : Links to a particular page number. When applicable click once to jump to another page.

# references to export : The number of references marked to export.

Quick Search
Advanced Search
Booleans
Full Record Viewing
Exporting
Troubleshooting
Go To Help Index

Troubleshooting

Q. Why am I receiving the message "Your search on "term" resulted in no references".

A. Some possible reasons:

Punctuation
Inappropriate database
Misspelling
Term is not in an indexed field
Wrong use of Boolean

1. Punctuation
Search : All databases
Text to Search for : whales,dolphins

Your search on whales,dolphins resulted in no references.

Suggested resolve: In the above example the problem is the comma. Replace the comma with a space. Do not use punctuation in Quick Search.

2. Inappropriate database
Search : Turtle.pdt
Text to Search for : whales dolphins

Your search on whales dolphins resulted in no references.

Suggested resolve: You may have selected an inappropriate database which does not include the terms whales and dolphins. Designate a different database or select the "All databases" if you are not sure. The Database Description button lists the database names, types, and topics.

3. Misspelling
Search : All databases
Text to Search for : dolphens

Your search on dolphens resulted in no references.

Suggested resolve: Check the spelling of your term(s).

4. Term is not in an indexed field

Suggested resolve: Examples of indexed fields are Authors, Keywords, Periodicals, or Years. Use Advanced Search for non-indexed fields.

5. Wrong use of Boolean
See Booleans for further explanation.

Q. Why won't my references export?

A. If you've installed the RIS Export Plug-In confirm that the Risweb16.exe file is in the program folder.

Q. The Risweb16.exe file is in the program folder and Export still will not function.

A. Depending on your browser, specify a viewer's Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension (mime) type as follows:

For Research Information Systems Web products:
MIME Type: application/x-Research-Info-Systems (this information is case-sensitive and
must be entered exactly as shown above.)

Description:                                  RIS file with a .RIS extension
                                                    (Most browsers will automatically install
                                                    this information and no entry is required
                                                    by the user.)

Associated Application:                c:\progra~1\risweb\risweb16.exe
                                                    (this is the application that is opened for files
                                                    associated with this mime type; you may also
                                                    need to specify the "action" for this application,
                                                    which should be "open"; be sure to specify the
                                                    full path to the application (using short directory
                                                    names if needed))

Q. My search results located 368 references. Why did the program only export 350, when I used the Mark All button?

A. The number of references you are allowed to export is determined by your Reference Web Poster Host.

Q. After exporting references from Reference Web Poster why does the data in my database fields appear differently?.

A. Fields may look out of sink if you've edited or created an output style. References are converted based on the generic or default reference type and field definitions for EndNote, or ProCite, with Reference Manager v8 equivalents. For EndNote to Reference Manager the full listing of the default type and field mapping used in the conversion process can be found in the En2rm.txt file, located with your Reference Web Poster Host. For ProCite to Reference Manager the full listing of the default type and field mapping used in the conversion process can be found in the PC2RM.txt file, also located with your Reference Web Poster Host.

Advanced Search
Database Descriptions
Booleans
Indexed Fields
Non-Indexed fields
Go To Help Index

How to Contact Us

You can contact Research Information Systems at the following phone numbers and addresses:

Research Information Systems
2355 Camino Vida Roble
Carlsbad, CA 92009-1572 USA

Phone:             (760) 438-5526
Fax:                 (760) 438-5573
Email               RISinfo@risinc.com

Technical support can be reached at:
Phone: (760) 438-5526 menu option 5
Email: Tech@risinc.com

URL:
http://www.risinc.com

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Documentation version 1.1
Š1998, Research Information SystemsŽ