1. All you really need
2. Table for quick reference
3. Finding sources
4. Finding keywords and phrases
5. Finding titles of books, reports, papers
6. Finding authors/organisations
7. Finding subjects
8. Using the Browse Index buttons
9. Displaying and printing results
10. Obtaining items
11. Search examples
12. Troubleshooting

1) All you really need

• Use more than one keyword or phrase (search term) for best results
• Use & and / to connect search terms.
• Use * to make sure you catch plurals and alternative spellings
• Limit your search to one journal: use the drop-down list
• Limit your search to full text only: tick the 'I only want full text' box

2) Table for quick reference:

3) Finding sources

We have made a separate database for each of the sources we publish.

If you want to limit your search to a particular source, choose the source from the drop-down list (at the top of the search page).

Otherwise, just leave the setting on ‘All’.

The source choices are:

• All
• Assessment matters
• Curriculum matters
• Early Childhood Folio
• New Zealand Annual Review of Education
• NZARE papers
• NZCER papers
• NZCER publications
• New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies (NZJES)
• set: Research Information for Teachers

For more information on each source, including which would be best for your needs: see NZCER Publications Database: Publications Covered

4) Finding keywords and phrases

Tip: For best results use more than one keyword or phrase.

To find keywords, you need to type an ampersand (&) between each word:

      school & transition
      cathy & wylie

To find phrases (several words in order), just type them:
(you don’t need speech marks around them)

      bulk funding
      child care

To find synonyms, you need to type a forward slash (/) between each one:

      early childhood/preschool/pre-school/kindergarten/day care/daycare

Group synonyms with brackets if you’re adding another search term:

      (early childhood/preschool/pre-school) & professional development

To find plurals, alternative spellings, etc, truncate with an asterisk (*):

      child* (finds child, children, child’s etc)
      playcent* (finds playcentre, playcenter, playcentres etc)

To find one term but exclude another term, type an exclamation mark (!) between the terms.
(a term is a key word or key phrase)

      disadvantage* !disadvantaged (finds disadvantage, disadvantages, but not disadvantaged)

5) Finding titles of books, reports, papers

Type keywords or phrases into the Title box (field). You don’t need to type the whole title. To find the report titled: The socialisation of teachers into the culture of assessment you can...

You can type a phrase (several words in order):

      socialisation of teachers

Or you can type keywords (several words, not necessarily in order):

      socialisation & teachers
      teachers & culture & assessment

Or use the Browse Index Buttons (see 8) below)

6) Finding authors/organisations

Type the author's surname first.

Optional: follow their surname with their first name or truncated initials:

      wylie
      wylie cathy
      wylie c*

Or use the ampersand (&) between the author’s first and last names:

      wylie & cathy

Or use the Browse Index Buttons (see 8) below)

Organisations with many listings can be searched by abbreviation:

      nzcer
      moe

7) Finding subjects

You can type keywords or phrases into the Subject box (field), however:

For subjects, it’s best to use the Browse Index Buttons (see below)

8) Using Browse Index buttons

Clicking on Browse Index buttons displays an alphabetical list of keywords and phrases you can choose from to build your search. It works a bit like the Index in the back of a book.

Terms are listed exactly as they appear in the database, e.g:

• the button by the Title field shows a list of exact titles
• the button by the Subject field shows a list of exact subject headings used to catalogue the items in the database.

Why would I use the Browse Index buttons ?

• You like quick, precise searching
• You don't like typing, or you might make typos
• You want to know the best terms to use
• You can't quite remember how to spell that author's name
• You want to ensure you get everything they wrote or co-wrote
• You want to get an idea of what's inside the database

I can’t see any Browse Index buttons

• Wait a few seconds for the buttons to load completely
• Your browser needs to be java-enabled to see and use these buttons
• You can download and install Java runtime from http://www.java.com

How do I use the Browse Index buttons?

• Click on the button by the Title, Author/Organisation or Subject field
• In the Find box start typing the words you are looking for
• Click on 'Go to' and the highlight will jump to the best place in the list
• Browse the list and double-click (or click once, then click on Paste) to choose the terms you want
• Close the window to see your selected terms pasted in for you
• Click 'Search'

What do I need to remember when using the Title button?

• Omit the words A, An, or The - at the beginning of a title only.
  e.g. to find: “The socialisation of teachers into the culture of assessment”
  Type: socialisation of teachers
• You find journal titles differently, by selecting the database at the top of the search page

What do I need to remember when using the Author button?

• Some authors may also be found in the ‘Contents’ field (e.g. conference proceedings). Cover these by searching in the Keywords box in the format: rosemary & hipkins
• There is a separate list for organisations (e.g. corporate authors and publishers). Change the ‘Field’ drop-down list to search on these
• Organisations with many listings are best searched without Browse Index buttons, by abbreviation (e.g. NZCER, MOE)

What do I need to remember when using the Subject button?

• The Subject Index covers two fields – Descriptors and Subject Broad. Switch between these using the Field drop-down list
• You can also use Descriptors to limit searches, by educational level (e.g. Early childhood education, Primary education, Secondary education); or country (e.g. New Zealand, United Kingdom)
• Subject Broad lists far fewer options, but with more hits for each. Best used in conjunction with specific keywords in the Keywords field, or if you really do want everything on a broad subject (e.g. Policy, Schools)

9) Displaying and printing results

You’ve typed in your search or used the Browse Index buttons to paste in your search terms.

• Click the Search button to run the search.
• You get a brief format report of the records found. This shows title, author and source.
• Click your browser’s Print button to print this list.
• Each title in the brief format report is a link. Click on the link for a full format report showing full bibliographic details for that item.
• Click your browser’s Print button to print this individual record.
• Use the Next Record, Previous Record, and browser Back buttons to move around.

10) Obtaining items

see NZCER Publications Database: Obtaining Items

11) Search examples

“I just want anything on the NCEA”

      Type: ncea in the Keywords box and click the Search button.

“I’m looking for the 'Competent Children' reports, written by Cathy Wylie.”

      Type: Competent Children & Wylie in the Keywords box and click the Search button.

"I want everything Rosemary Hipkins has written for NZCER - books, reports, conference papers, the lot!"

      Type: rosemary & hipkins in the Keywords box and click the Search button.

“I’ve got an assignment on the relevance of the Treaty of Waitangi to early childhood education.”

      Type: (treaty of waitangi / bicultur*  / maori* / multicultur* / indigenous) in the Keywords box, use the Browse Index button by the       Search field to find and paste in early childhood education in the Subject field, and click Search.

12) Troubleshooting

I can’t see any Browse Index buttons

• Wait a few seconds for the buttons to load completely
• Your browser needs to be java-enabled to see and use these buttons
• You can download and install Java runtime from http://www.java.com
• You may have a pop-up blocker installed

Why am I not finding anything?

Check:

• you have used the symbols & / !  (if you use AND OR or NOT you will find nothing.)
• you have constructed your search correctly
• your spelling is correct

Broaden your search:

• add synonyms
• truncate to include plurals & word stem variants
• take out one of your search terms
• don't limit by date or country
• change to a larger or more inclusive database, e.g. All

Help! I've got too many hits!

Narrow your search:

• use more specific search terms (e.g. if you mean 'music' don't use 'arts')
• check you haven’t over-truncated
• search in the most likely field rather than in the Keywords box
• use Subject search to find items directly relating to your topic
• add another search term or concept (eg 'New Zealand')
• limit by adding publication dates (e.g. type 2003/2004/2005 in Keywords box)
• change to a smaller and more focussed database, i.e. under ‘Choose a publications database to search’