Search Instructions for using the
Index to American Periodicals 1700 to 1900
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Find a term
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In the first field, type any term (person, place or thing) in which you are interested. To find:
"George Washington" type "Washington, George"
Hint:
As terminology changes from periodical to periodical, type as little information as possible. In this case type only "Washington" or use the "Word Wheel" function. George Washington may be referred to as "Washington, George", "Washington, G.", Washington, President", "Washington, Mr.", etc. A less encompassing search may yield more effective results.
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Find a specific term
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To limit a search to a specific word, enter an equal sign (=) in front of that word. To find only:
"England" type "=England"
Hint:
If England is typed without the equal sign, the result will not only yield all entries for only "England" but all other entries with England as part of the term. That is, "London, England", "Birmingham, England", "Church of England", "Bank of England", etc.
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Special Information about a term
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To find specific information about a term, enter a qualifier in the second field or "Specific Information" field. For instance, to find customs of Indians:
Type: Indians (First Field)
Customs (Second Field)
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Furthur Search
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Qualifications
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A search can also be limited by "Title" using the third field, or by "Date" using the fourth field.
Hint: Use the "Word Wheel" to find available titles.
For dates, use = < > <= >= in the date field. For example, <1858 finds all dates before 1858. "=1858" finds records for only 1858, etc
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Word Wheel
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The Word Wheel dialog box appears when you click the Word Wheel button on a query screen. The dialog box shows indexed information from the field you are searching. By pasting an item such as "Ship Building" into a box, you can search for it. This eliminates trial-and-error searching, to produce more accurate searches.
Hint: For more information, click on "Word Wheel" and then the "Help" button.
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Using Boolean Search Symbols
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/ Represents Boolean OR. Expands a search, because either condition may be met. Use / to look for a number of items, any one of which qualifies a record for inclusion. For example, Twain/Clemens finds any of those words, even if they occur in separate entries.
& Represents Boolean AND. Limits a search, because all conditions must be met. Use & if the retrieved records must satisfy several criteria at once. For example, type Gun & Cotton to find all records that contain both names, even if the names occur in separate entries.
! Represents Boolean NOT. Excludes records from the search results. For example, type President ! Vice President in the Title box to find titles that contain the word computer, but not network.
Execute a Query Press Enter or click the Execute Query button ("Go") in the query toolbar or choose Search>Execute Query.
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