Using WilsonWeb Omnifile to Locate Articles
Searching Wilson WebWilsonWeb is an online database system that provides researchers with access to the contents of millions of articles published in a wide variety of periodicals. Not all journals covered in WilsonWeb have full text available, but the system does provide full articles for over 1800 of the publications that it indexes. The UNF Library subscribes to the following databases in WilsonWeb:
Wilson OmniFile Full Text Mega Edition includes indexing, abstracting, and full text of all available articles from the following Wilson databases:
Searching OmniFile Searching OmniFile is not too different from searching in other article databases. The database provides users with both a Basic Search mode and an Advanced Search mode. By default, the library has set OmniFile to open in Advanced Search mode since it offers the most search flexibility and precision. The screen shot below shows the opening search options for OmniFile in Advanced Search mode. Enter keywords describing the search topic in the Search For boxes provided and choose the appropriate Boolean connector (AND, OR, NOT) from the pull-down boxes to the left. By default, WilsonWeb databases (including OmniFile) use "Smart Search" to locate relevant matches to keywords entered. By default, Smart Search searches word variations and phrases automatically in all information available in the database. By using the pull-down menu to the right of the "All - Smart Search" selection, a searcher can choose to search directly any of the following limited fields:
By default, articles retrieved in a search are organized by relevance. Relevance is determined by the WilsonWeb search system and is based on keyword frequency, location of the keywords, and other criteria designed into the system to provide the most usable articles at the top of the list. At times, this may not be the desired ranking for a searcher. For instance, I might want to view the most recent articles at the top of my list rather than the most relevant. A researcher can choose how the system organizes the search results by selecting a different ranking criterion from the Sort By pull-down menu where the word "Relevance" appears. Available ranking options are:
A researcher can also limit a search by Document Type and by Physical Description. A complete listing for both of these limiters is available at the end of this document. |
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| To do a search, enter keywords into the FIND boxes. In the example below, we have entered stem cells as a search phrase and alzheimers as an additional topic. | ||||
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The result of the search is a listing of 95 articles organized by relevance (articles that appear to be the best based on the keywords entered in the search). The screen shot below shows the first 4
articles located. Notice for each article the necessary bibliographic
information is provided: author(s) name(s), article title, journal
or magazine title, volume, issue number, date, and inclusive pages
numbers. Beneath each article description are icons that help
to identify availability of the article. A mortar board icon identifies the article as being peer-reviewed.
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| Clicking an article title provides the researcher with a full description of the article, including further journal information, article language, and article summary or abstract. The screen shot below shows the full description of the first item in the listing, an article from the National Review entitled "Stem-Cell Hard Sell." Note that this article includes a full description of the article including an abstract and links to related subjects, which include Fetal tissues/Transplantation/Ethical aspects, Alzheimer's disease/Therapy, Scientific research/Federal aid, Stem cells/Transplantation, Reagan, Nancy, 1921-/Political and social views, and Reagan, Ronald, 1911-2004/Death and burial. Any of these links can be clicked to perform a new search the focuses on the listed topic. | ||||
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The article description screen indicates that the article is available in both plain text and in pdf formats. The plain text copy of the article is formatted for the Web so that it will display quickly and easily in a Web browser. Clicking the fulltext icon at the top left of the article description screen opens a copy of the article into a new browser window. |
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Clicking the page image or pdf icon for the article opens a copy of the original article into a new browser window in Adobe Reader. This copy of the article provides the original formatting of the article including all pictures, charts, graphs, and tables that were included in the original. Additionally, the pdf copy of the article retains the original page numbering so that it is easier to reference in a research paper. |
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Not all articles are available in full text in OmniFile. For example, on page two of the results listing is an article entitle "Mechanisms and Functional Implications of Adult Neurogenesis" from a professional journal entitled Cell that might be of interest. This article has a summary in OmniFile but no full text. |
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Directly beneath the article description is a link to the ArticleLinker system, which enables researchers to locate copies of articles in any of the library's databases. ArticleLinker checks in all the library's full text databases and provides links to article copies if they are available. If a copy is not available in any of the library's databases, ArticleLinker provides an option to search the library's catalog for a print copy of the article in the library's Periodicals Collection. If the article is not available online or in print, ArticleLinker provides a link to the library's Interlibrary Loan request system (ILLiad) so that the researcher can place a request for the article. And, finally, ArticleLinker also helps a researcher check to see if the referenced journal is academic and if it is peer reviewed or refereed by linking to the Ulrich's Periodicals Directory. |
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| ArticleLinker indicates that a copy of the article is available in Elsevier's Science Direct research system. Clicking the "Article" link to the left of the database name opens a copy of the article into a new browser window. Science Direct provides both the Web formatted full text of the article and the PDF version of the article. The Web copy of the referenced article is shown below. Note that there is a link to the PDF version above and to the right of the article title. | ||||
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| Researchers can save information located through OmniFile easily. A Print Email Save tab appears above the article listings. Clicking the tab results in the following options screen. | ||||
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| Choosing the Email option produces the following selection screen. A researcher will need to fill in the email address where the article or article description will be sent and should type in a subject to indicate the contact of the email. Additionally, a researcher can enter his/her name as part of the message and any notes that should accompany the article. By default, the system sends the first 10 items in the search result, but the user can change that to selected or marked items or to any number of items up to 100 at the time. Optionally, the user can select to send the full text of the articles, the citations, or just the brief article displays. The procedure works the same for both printing and for saving. Make a choice and then choose the options that best suit the need. | ||||
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OmniFile also supports exporting article information into a bibliographic management system such as RefWorks. The library subscribes to RefWorks, so this feature in OmniFile can be very useful for keeping track of references and for later formatting a bibliography directly from the database's article listings. The export screen is shown below. The user will need to select which items to export, up to 100 at the time, and which system to export to. Note that Omnifile supports both RefWorks and EndNote. |
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| Most databases rely on a very specific vocabulary for indexing included articles. Usually, these specialized terms are directly available for searching in a database Thesaurus. OmniFile makes use of Thesaurus searching as one of the many means for querying the database. Choosing the Thesaurus tab provides a fill-in-the-blank box where a you can specify a topic and search for matches in the OmniFile thesaurus. The example below shows the start of a thesaurus search for stem cell research. | ||||
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| Our choice of words results in a tabbed listing of terms that can be directly searched in OmniFile. Note that "stem cell research" actually will produce a listing of more than 200 items in the database. Following the initial tabbed listing are additional subject listings (International Society for Stem Cell Research, Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (Proposed). If a researcher were interested in finding information about the proposed Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, clicking that link would execute a new search on that topic. | ||||
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| Linking to the first tabbed listing puts us into a starting list of more than 200 items that deal with stem cell research as the main subject. If an initial search in OmniFile delivers too many results, searching using the Thesaurus is a quick way of limiting the numbers of items the researcher has to look through. | ||||
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| OmniFile will not identify everything
a researcher might need on every topic, but it provides a good starting
place for nearly any topic in nearly any subject. The varied types
of publications ensures that a novice to a field can find something
readable and that an expert in the field can find detailed research
articles, as well. In short, OmniFile helps a researcher identify materials
written for the lay reader and for the expert.
Topics not developed well enough in OmniFile's content can be searched in others of the library's 200 research databases. Choose a subject area and then choose a database from the library databases guide. |
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| Reading updated 11/08. |
Full
text is available in 
Full
text is available in 
The
article is peer-reviewed (academic, usually) 
Use
ArticleLinker to check
for article availability online or in print and to find more
information about the publication 