Wilson Web Databases include Business Full Text, Education Full Text, Education Full Text and Education Index Retrospective, General Science Full Text, Humanities Full Text, Wilson OmniFile Full Text Mega, Readers' Guide Full Text, Readers' Guide Retrospective, and Social Sciences Full Text.
All eight of these databases are searched using the same basic interface, with some minor variations. When conducting research, select the Wilson Web database most relevant to your subject. This guide will highlight Wilson OmniFile Full Text Mega and serve as an overview on how to use the search interface.
1. From the Library homepage, select the link for "Articles and Databases":
2. On the main database page, all databases are listed in alphabetical order. Scroll down and select the database you wish to use, in this case Wilson OmniFile Full Text Mega:
3. The image below shows the main search page for Wilson Web. A number of options exist to limit or expand searches. Some of the most useful options are circled. Moving clockwise from the top left, note 1) three search boxes to allow for multiple, simultaneous keyword searches, 2) a drop down menu with search limiters to specify that searches look in specific fields such as author, title, keyword anywhere, etc., 3) the option to limit searches to full text, and/or peer reviewed, and/or PDF format articles, 4) the ability to limit to a specific type of document such as a film review, book review, editorial, etc., and 5) the ability to limit searches to documents published within a certain date range:
4. The search boxes are used as you would use a search engine, by entering in a keyword or keywords and selecting a specific field to search. In the example below, "energy independence" is searched as a keyword, results are limited to "Full Text Articles", and the articles are limited to those published from 2006 to 2008:
5. The search results appear on the next screen:
6. At this point, you will need to scroll through the titles to find those that appeal to you based on your research needs. Let's take a look at the 2nd article that appears on the results list. Clicking on the title link will take you to a page with the full citation. The "PDF Full Text" link will take you directly to the text of the article, as will the "HTML Full Text" link. The "Article Linker" link will search other Library databases for the same article. Alternatively, you may place a check in the box next to the article, which will save it for you and allow you to keep scrolling through the results. To get your saved articles, select the "Get Marked" link up top:
7. After selecting the title link, the full citation and article will appear in the next screen. Note that you can print, save, or e-mail the article to yourself from this page:
8. Looking back at the original screen shot of search results, you will notice a list of subject terms on the left hand side of the screen. Clicking on any of these terms will cause the database to generate a new search by looking for articles categorized under that subject term:
9. When the first subject term in the box is clicked, "Energy Policy", the following search is generated. All of these articles will be on the subject of energy policy:
10. The search example demonstrated above was set to return full text articles only. If you do not limit your search to "Full text articles" at the outset, then you may have articles returned for which you have only the citation, and not the full text of the article. Articles 5, 6, and 7 below are examples since they have no links to full text:
11. In the screenshot above, you will note that articles 5, 6, and 7 have a link named "Article Linker". By selecting that link and following the directions in the next screen, you may be able to obtain the article through another Library database. See our guide on Article Linker for a full illustration of this process.
For more information on how to search the Wilson Web databases, please see their extensive help section.
When doing your homework and research, always feel free to stop by the Library Reference desk to seek assistance from a librarian, call us at (904)-819-6331, or e-mail us at library@flagler.edu for help.