Cambridge Scientific Abstracts.  NTIS and other CSA databases.  Search Hints

• Search multiple CSA databases at one time, removing duplicate records.  Enter a CSA database.  To the right of "Change:" click on "Specific Databases." Check relevant databases or for all databases click on "Mark" (left column, under GO and to the right of Clear all on page). Click on "Continue to Search."
• Cambridge Scientific Abstracts (CSA) databases include NTIS (1964+), Aerospace & High Technology Database (1962+), Materials Research Database set with METADEX (1966+), GeoRef (1693+), PAIS public affairs (1915+), ERIC education (1966+), and Sociological Abstracts (1952+).
• National Technical Information Service (NTIS) database.  Cambridge Scientific Abstracts (CSA).  NTIS indexes U.S. federally sponsored technical research reports such as from the Departments of Defense, Energy, NASA, and other federal agencies. NTIS coverages the years 1964 to present.
• CSA NTIS search example. http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~bw21/4camb.pdf   [get Acrobat] .  CSA Illumina "Help & Support."
• Try searching the NTIS database before requesting items through interlibrary loan (theses, dissertations, papers).  Search author last names ("or") and important title keywords.
• Most technical reports are available in microfiche on the 2nd floor east, or are available in electronic format.  A few selected reports are in the new Catalog (VUFind) {repository searching coming soon}. Some selected reports are available in the Library's locally loaded Government Funded Technical Reports databases (search by title keywords). Government websites have selected full text reports. GT students, faculty and staff can request the purchase of missing reports for the Library's collection (ask the 2nd floor east Special Formats & Maps associates to verify that the Library doe not own the report in our microfiche collection).  Technical Reports Research Guide.
• The Cambridge Scientific Abstracts's Aerospace & High Technology Database indexes technical reports, journal papers and conference papers.
• Library’s Technical Report Collection Full-text Availability of Technical Reports  (Technical Reports Research Guide)
• Microfiche. The Georgia Tech Library holds over 2,500,000 microfiche technical reports, located on the 2nd floor East. The period from 1960 to 2007 is the most heavily represented, although older reports dating from 1900 are available. Ask the 2nd floor east staff for assistance in locating the microfiche reports.  Full-text Availability of Technical Reports  (Technical Reports Research Guide)
• Note report numbering along the back wall is out of order (PBs to Z).
• PDF copies and print enlargements and email scans can be made from the 2nd floor east microfiche technical reports.
• NTIS indexed microfiche technical reports are shelved on the 2nd floor east by the NTIS "Accession Number."  Other reports may be shelved under the "Report Number."
• Some NTIS records have an extra “check digit” (last digit of report number) that must be ignored. Example: ADA1425156(displayed) --  ADA-142-515 (actual number; how it is shelved)
• Watch for irrelevant zeros (may appear after agency code, at the beginning of report numbers). Example: AD0782944 (displayed) -- AD-782-944 (actual number; how it is shelved)
• Microfiche technical reports indexed by non-NTIS databases might be shelved on the 2nd floor east by the Report Number listed in the "Report Number" field.
• The largest areas in the Library's microfiche technical reports collection include AD, ADA, DE, N, PB , TI and Y technical research reports.
• Print and Electronic. A few selected technical reports are listed in the Catalog (VuFind) {repository searching coming soon} and some selected reports are in the locally loaded Government Funded Technical Reports database (search by report "title" keywords). Government websites have selected full text reports.
• Purchase.  For individual technical reports that are not currently held in the Georgia Tech microfiche collection, a request (bette.finn@library.gatech.edu) may be made to add a title to the Library's collection. This service is free of charge for Georgia Tech students, faculty and staff.  Ask the Special Formats & Maps Department, 2nd floor east, to verify that the Library does not own the microfiche report.
• Government sites have selected full text.  Department of Defense/DTIC, Department of Energy/DOE, ETDE World Energy Base, Environmental Protection Agency/EPA, NASA, NACA.   Full-text Availability of Technical Reports  (Technical Reports Research Guide)
• Major Indexes for Technical Reports
• Unclassified Georgia Tech research project reports from GTRI and academic departments. For recent Georgia Tech project reports not listed in the Catalog, contact Records Management (http://www.library.gatech.edu/about/archives.php).  Recent Georgia Tech project reports are available electronically, or in Records Management remote storage.  Many older Georgia Tech project reports are in the General Collection and Archives (two copies).  Selected GT project reports are available in the Catalog "Internet"/"Electronic Version" "Get fulltext copy" field.
• Format.  "Save, Print, Email" defaults to "Short format." Change to "Full format" or "Full--omit refs" format.  The default is "Short format."
• The "Short format (default)" can be changed to "Full format" if a "Profile" is created in "My Research" using "Please log in to My Research" "Manage Personal Profile" "CSA Illumina Interface Options: ( Edit )" "Save, Print, Email" then click on "Full format."
• Vital information such as DOIs and conference/report information are often only available in the "Full format."
• "Quick Search"  "Advanced Search"  "Command Search" screens.
• Restrict by field name, such as
• TI=(title)
• DE=(descriptor)  Thesaurus subject heading
• ID=(identifier)  Non-thesaurus subject heading
• AU=(author)
• KW= (keywords) Simultaneously searches Title (TI), Abstract (AB), Descriptor (DE), Identifier (ID) fields.
• AF=(affiliation field for first author or corresponding author, in non-NTIS databases; when available)
• Not all records contain an Author Affiliation field.
• SO=(first author affiliation field in NTIS database).  NTIS does not contain an AF= field.
• SO=(bibliographic citation information). Source field.  If the record describes a journal article, the source field for most CSA databases contains the abbreviated journal title. To find the correct form of the abbreviated name, search the Serials Source List for that database
• Conferences/Proceedings.  Relevant fields:  Source, Conference, Report number, Other Numbers, Publisher, and Publication Type.  Conferences can be cataloged in the Catalog as either monographs (books, with an unique monographic title, a specific date and specific location) or as serials (similar to journals; all conferences listed in one single record). View "Full format," instead of Short.  Ask us for help.
• Truncate with asterisk (*)
• Truncation expands a search term to include all forms of a root word, e.g., patent* retrieves patent, patents, patentable, patented, etc.
• Unlimited number of characters within a word, e.g., behavi*r retrieves behaviour or behavior.
• The ? represents a single character; two ?? represent two characters; three ??? represent three characters, and so on. Use within or at the end of a word, e.g., wom?n finds woman as well as women, and carbon fib?? finds carbon fiber or carbon fibre.
• Proximity operators.  Proximity searches limit the number of words between your search terms. Truncation is permitted with proximity operators.
• No Operator (___).  Find words as a exact phrase, e.g., "life stage transitions" retrieves records containing the three words immediately adjacent to one another and in the same order.
• WITHIN "X" Find words within a specified radius, e.g., (women) within 5 (violence) retrieves records that contain women and violence in any order and within a five word radius of one other. Any number may be used to determine the proximity radius.
• NEAR.  Near is the same as within 10.
• BEFORE Finds words in a relative order, e.g., social before security. Note: adjacency is not implied.
• AFTER Finds words that contain words in the relative order specified with the after expression, e.g., scope after science. Note: adjacency is not implied.
• Use double quotes " to search for "near", "before", or "after", e.g., "near" death experience.
• Search Tools:  Combine Searches | Alerts | History | Command Search | Thesaurus | Indexes
• Combine Searches:  (#3 or #2) and new term.   Combine Searches enables you to combine results from two or more searches from the current search history, or combine the results of current searches with new search terms. Use Boolean Operators "AND" or "OR" to combine searches.
• "Find IT GT".  "Find It GT" often does not work for technical reports and conference proceedings, even though they are is in the Catalog or in the technical reports collections.
• Although the Library owns a very large collection of microfiche technical reports on the 2nd floor east, only a few selected technical reports are in the Catalog and therefore reports can seldom link using "Find It GT."  A few selected reports are in the Catalog and some selected reports are in the locally loaded Government Funded Technical Reports database (search by report "title" keywords). Government websites have selected full text reports.
• "Find It GT" works for most (but not all) "journal articles."  Note that aggregator databases (ProQuest, EBSCOhost, Factiva, Lexis Nexis, GaleGroup, etc.) can have selective full text e-journal coverage and embargo date restrictions.  Always check the Classic GT Catalog print "Library has:" field for journal publication years (General Collection, Recent Issues, Storage), watch for journal title changes (separate records; Continues, Continued by, Split into), and check "Electronic Version" "Available from" notes.  Separate Classic GT Catalog records may exist for print and electronic journal volumes (electronic records are often listed before the print records).
• Many older and some joint IEEE and IEE/IET papers are not in IEEE Xplore, but are owned by the Library and are cataloged in the Catalog.  IEEE Xplore covers 1988 to present and selected papers before 1988.
• "Find It GT" will often fail for technical reports, conferences, and patents, even though they are owned by the Library.  Conduct a manual search in the Classic GT Catalog, and check the Library's reports and patents collections.
• Browse Index (such as Author Index). A browsable index is an alphabetical listing of terms used in a specific field of a database.
• Thesaurus (when available).  Browse for terms via a hierarchical, alphabetical, or rotated index display.
• DOI.  "Detailed record" format only. Try copying and pasting the "DOI:" number (such as DOI: 10.2514/1.31522) into the eJournals "Have a ...DOI you'd like to find? Try the Citation Linker" -- "DOI" blank box, for electronic subscription collections such as IEEE Explore, SPIE, AIAA, ScienceDirect, PROLA or SPIN.
• Stop words. Author initials.  CSA Illumina "stop words" include: after, and, at least, before, ge, lt, near, not, or, and within. Search strategies including stop words will retrieve zero results.  To search for an author whose initials are a stop word, enclose the author initials in "quotes", e.g., au=Robinson, "GE".
• Sort.  Sort order of the search results: Most Recent First and Relevance.
• Alert.  A saved 'Alert' will be used to automatically search selected databases for new content every week (up to 250 new records from each database). One line alerts.

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For on-on-one database search assistance and for group instruction, contact your Subject Librarian.

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NTIS Class Presentation Slide Examples
Library Services, Search Hints and Database Guides for ECE
Library Services, Search Hints and Database Guides for GTRI
Library Home Page
Classic GT Catalog
All Library Research Guides.
All Library Databases
ILLiad request form.   ILL Services--Borrow from other libraries

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http://www.prism.gatech.edu/