University Library > Using WilsonWeb

How to Use WilsonWeb® WilsonWeb logo


To search:
Applied Science Full Text
Art Full Text
Biographies Plus Illustrated
Biological & Agricultural Index Plus
Business Full Text
Education Full Text

 General Science Full Text
Humanities Full Text
OmniFile Full Text Mega
Readers' Guide Full Text
Social Sciences Full Text

 

Table of Contents:

WilsonWeb® may be used to search for citations, abstracts and available full text of journal or magazine articles or biographies in the databases listed on this guide. It is accessible online using a variety of Internet browsers, such as Netscape®, Internet Explorer®, or Mozilla Firefox®. Off-campus user access is restricted to registered students, faculty and staff of UW-Whitewater.

Off-Campus access requires UW-W login.

Logging In/Out

From the Library home page, click on the link to Find Articles, Statistics..., then either click on the link to WilsonWeb under Indexes & Databases by System or click on a letter such as A for Art Full Text under Indexes & Databases in Alphabetical Order, then on the link to Art Full Text. You must access the WilsonWeb® databases using one of these options.

To exit a WilsonWeb® database, click the Exit Program button at the upper right of the display.

Selecting Databases

At the top of the search screen, click in the checkbox of each desired database. To close the list of databases, click the Close Database Selection Area link. To change databases at any time during a search, click on the Revise Search button and then click the Open Database Selection Area link to see the list of databases again.

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Searching

The default search type is an WilsonWeb Advanced Search button. This search type is recommended. An Advanced Search provides 3 search boxes, each with its own dropdown menu of search fields as well as dropdown menus of Boolean operators (and, or, not) between boxes. Type search terms into the box(es) and select a search field for each. If using more than one box, connect them with either and or or (see Techniques below) and click on Start. Common search fields are listed below.

Select Search Field: To search: Search terms:
All - Smart Search all fields, including full text word or phrase
Keyword citation, abstract, and subject headings word or phrase
Subject(s) subject headings word or phrase
Title title word or phrase
Author, Personal author name, in any order












To construct a more complex search, select WilsonWeb Basic Search button.  One search box is provided. Type a search term or phrase in the search box using Boolean operators as needed (see Techniques below) and click on Start. All fields are searched; you choose whether to search the full text of articles by checking the box.

Techniques

To retrieve records with:   Search for:
exact word "sail"
various forms of a word, such as sail, sails, sailor sail* (* symbol is not needed for All-Smart Search option)
an exact phrase "endangered species"
more than one word, whether adjacent or not endangered and species
synonyms or other related words teenager or adolescent or juvenile
multiple words, synonyms or other related words violen* and (juvenile* or teen*)














Limits

Limits are available only in Advanced Search, and will appear once a database is chosen. Limits vary depending on the database(s) selected. To limit a search to certain years, use Limit Dates to:. The default is Any Year. You may also limit to Within last 12 months, or specify a range of years using the From Year:/To Year: option.

To limit the search to articles available full text in HTML in the open databases, click in the checkbox next to Full Text Articles following the Limit to: option, or when search results are displayed, click on WilsonWeb Full Text icon Full Text at the top of the search results. For PDF files, choose Page Image (PDF) after Limit to: on the search screen or click on WilsonWeb PDF icon PDF at the top of the results.

To limit the search to peer-reviewed journals when formulating a search, click in the checkbox next to Peer Reviewed following Limit to:, or when search results are displayed, click on WilsonWeb Peer Reviewed icon Peer Reviewed at the top of the results. This icon appears at the end of an individual citation in the Brief Display to indicate the journal (although not necessarily the article) is peer-reviewed.

To limit searches to a particular type of document, such as speeches, select a type from the dropdown menu following Document Type: on the search screen.

Search History

To repeat a search or to combine previous search queries, click on WilsonWeb Search History button, then:

To repeat a query, click in the checkbox for the search listed under Search Number and then click on the Rerun button to the right of the query.

To combine two previous queries with one another using only one Boolean operator, use the Search Builder section at the top of the Search History screen. Choose a search number in the dropdown box. Click Add. Then choose the Boolean search operator you wish to use, and a second search number. Click Add, then Submit.

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Displaying Results

Brief Display

The Brief Display of the Search Results is the default view. It indicates the query searched, the database(s) searched, and the number of records retrieved. Each record identifies the Author, Title and Source information for an article. Results are automatically ranked by relevance, unless you specify to sort by date or another option in the Sort By: section of the Advanced Search screen.

To go to the Full Display of Results from Brief Display, click on the Full button at the bottom of the Results screen.

Full Display

The Full Display of Search Results indicates the query searched, the database(s) searched, and the number of records retrieved. Each record identifies the Title of the article, its Author(s), Source citation, Subject(s), and an Abstract, among other information. The user can customize what appears in the Full Display by clicking on the Customize Display button at the bottom of the results display or any search screen. From the list of options, click in the checkbox or radio button of those to be displayed in the results. To remove a selected option, click on the box to remove the check mark. To see the field options for article records, biography records, and book records, click on the + sign next to each under Select Fields to Include in.... Click on the bottom Save Changes button when complete.

To go to the Brief Display from the Full Display of Results, click on the Back to Brief button at the bottom of the screen.

Full Text

Full text of select articles is available in either HTML (full text) or PDF format. To display full text, from the Brief Display or Full Display, click on the Full Text HTML or the Full Text PDF link below the citation you wish to view. The article will open in a new browser window. Display of PDF files requires a helper program. Adobe Acrobat Reader® is recommended and installed on UW-W workstations. Off-campus users may download it from the Adobe web site.

The Find It button find it button is displayed with each citation. It is only needed if neither of the full text links described above appear. Click the Find It button and use the links in the Find It menu to determine whether the article is available either online or in the Library.

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Marking Results

To mark Results to be printed, saved to disk or emailed as a group, click in the checkbox next to each desired record in either the Brief or Full display. To see marked records, click on the Get Marked button at the bottom of the screen. To unmark individual items, click in the checkbox preceding each marked record. To see all Results again, click on Back to All. To unmark all items, click on the Clear Marks button at the bottom.

Printing Results

Brief Citations

To print brief citations, mark the results you wish to print and then click on WilsonWeb Print Email Save button. Click on the + sign next to Printing and Citing Options. Under Include, choose the options to be printed with the citation. Then choose options for which records and fields you want to print. Click on Print. On the next screen, click Print again. To return to the Results after printing, click on the Back button at the bottom of the screen, and then click the Back to Results button.

Full Text of Articles

To print a PDF article, click the Full Text PDF link to open the article in an Acrobat Reader window. Click Printer icon on the Acrobat Reader toolbar, then either accept All or click on Pages and specify a range of page numbers. Then click on OK button.

To print an HTML article, click the Full Text HTML link to open the article in a new window. Click the Print button at the top of the article. Then click Print again.

For more information on printing, click on WilsonWeb Print Email Save button. Click on the + sign next to Printing and Citing Options, and then click Print Instructions.

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Saving Results to Disk

Insert a formatted 3.5" floppy disk into the workstation's A: drive (if available), or a flashdrive into a USB port.

To save records to disk, mark the records you wish to save and then click on WilsonWeb Print Email Save button. Click on the + sign next to Saving, Citing, and Formatting.... Under Include, choose the options to be saved with the citation. Then choose options for which records and fields you want to save. Under Format, choose a format. (Note: To save full text of HTML articles, change to FULL TEXT under Fields before choosing your Format option.) Click Save. The records will then appear in a new window in the format in which they will be saved. Select Save As from the File menu. Then type a File name by which to save the record(s). Select a drive from the Save in menu and click on Save button. Note: Open text or rtf files within a word processing program such as MS Word. Open HTML files using an Internet browser.

Another saving option is to open each HTML article individually by clicking the Full Text HTML link and save using the Save button at the top of the page. Then follow the steps above to name and save your file.

PDF Full Text articles must be saved individually. Click the Full Text PDF link to open the article in an Acrobat Reader window. Click on Acrobat Save icon on the Acrobat Reader toolbar. Then either accept the given file name or type another in the File name box. Leave Adobe PDF Files (*.pdf) in the Save as type menu. Select a drive from the Save in menu and click on Save button. To open the saved file again, Acrobat Reader must be installed on the computer.

For more information on saving results to disk, click on WilsonWeb Print Email Save button. Click on the + sign next to Saving, Citing, and Formatting..., and then click Save Instructions.

Emailing Results

To email records, mark the records you wish to email and then click on WilsonWeb Print Email Save button. Click on the + sign next to Emailing and Citing Options. Under Include, choose the options to be emailed with the citation. Then choose options for which records and fields you want to email. Under Format, choose a format for full text, if applicable. (Note: To email full text of HTML articles, change to FULL TEXT under Fields before choosing your Format option.) Type a full email address (e.g., bushgw01@uww.edu) in the To: box and type a subject line in the Subject: box, then click on Email.

Another emailing option is to open each HTML article individually by clicking the Full Text HTML link and email the article using the Email button at the top of the page. Note: PDF files cannot be emailed.

For more information on emailing results, click on WilsonWeb Print Email Save button. Click on the + sign next to Emailing and Citing Options, and then click Email Instructions.

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Help

For help while using a WilsonWeb® database, click on Help at the left of the display.