COMM1113 Oral Communication: Book Searching

If you know the title to a book, use the "Title" search option. This search option will pull all records with that title listed in the NSU Libraries collections. For example, if there are several editions of the title in the collection under the same title, these records will be retrieved using the title search.

Example Title: Choosing Ethnic Identity

Example Title: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association

There are multiple library records for the Publication Manual title for the 4th, 5th, and 6th edition. Review the records to determine which one you need. If you only have a few words in the title, the system will search for any titles with those words.

The "Author" search locates all items written or co-authored by that author in the library's collections. From the Library Home page select the "Books & More" tab at the top of the main library page and select "Author" from the drop down menu.
Tip: Enter the author's name and click search.
Example names:
Hepburn, Stephanie or Stephanie Hepburn
Kuypers, Jim or Jim Kuypers
Ridge, Betty or Betty Ridge

Tip: If the author's name is similar to another author's name, provide the middle name initial.
Ex: Smith, James D or Smith, James F
Ex: James D Smith or James F Smith

Tip: Some author's names and middle initials are the same. If the middle name is given use it, if not generally a quick review of the book titles will determine which author is correct. 
Ex: Smith, James Perrin or Smith, James P
EX: James Perrin Smith or James P Smith

Tip: When searching for Latin names using the Library Catalog at NSU Libraries, they can differ in the way they are searched. However, when searching through the database WorldCat (OCLC), it will search for words and will return results. 
Ex: Garcilaso de la Vega would be entered as: Vega, Garcilaso de la
Ex: Mario Vargas Llosa would be entered as: Vargas Llosa, Mario
Ex: Juana Ines de la Cruz would be entered as written, without changing the wording.
Ex: Federico Garcia Lorca would be entered as Garcia Lorca, Federico
Ex: Pedro Calderon de la Barca would be entered as Calderon de la Barca, Pedro

Many systems, like databases, library catalogs online, and Google, default to the "Keyword" search, which uses "natural language" or words. This term or set of terms can appear anywhere or any field in a record, such as title, author, subject, note, etc. The meaning of the words are not considered. For example, the terms "heavy metal" could pull results related to music or related to soil content. Here are some basic tips on how to use the Keyword search.

Tip: Combine or group terms by enclosing them within quotation marks.  
"opioid abuse"
"performance enhancing drugs"

Tip: Use the Keyword search to combine an author and keywords in a title of his or her work. For example, for information about the poem, "Mending Wall", by Robert Frost, or the fiction novel, House of the Spirits, by Isabel Allende, combine the author's last name and a keyword of the title of the work. Note: The names are not case sensitive. Additionally, the search may pull other non-related titles if the terms entered appear in the item record.
Ex: Frost and Mending
Ex: allende and spirits

Grouping: Keyword search results are usually grouped by relevance to bring the most likely titles to the top of the list. Each group represents a similar level of relevance and results are sorted within the group by date or title. To get an ungrouped result set, use boolean operators to form a complex query. 

Example: computer crimes and cyberbullying

Example: opioid and pharmaceutical industry

The "Subject" search uses a "controlled vocabulary" and focuses on subject terms or subject headings to define or to describe the information within the system. This type of search is targeted using specific terms or phrases that are highly relevant to the topic. It will locate all records on this subject and does not consider other fields, like the title or note fields as part of the search. This ensures the results are related and focused on the subject searched or the desired topic, which saves the user time.
Examples:
american speeches
speeches addresses american
​public speaking
oral communication
nonverbal communication
verbal behavior
persuasive communication
business presentations
social aspects
social media
social inequalities
digital media social aspects
violence in the media
violence social aspects

For additional information and to locate the Library of Congress subject authority headings and more, see the Library of Congress Authorities link below.