EFFECTIVE METHODS FOR SEARCHING AND RETRIEVING FULL-TEXT ARTICLES IN LIFE SCIENCES FROM ONLINE ACCESS TO RESEARCH IN THE ENVIRONMENT DATABASES

Abstract

The study presents eleven (11) simple descriptive approaches for searching and retrieving full-text articles from Online Access to Research in the Environment (OARE) databases. OARE is an Internet portal containing different full-text scholarly databases providing access to quality literature to facilitate and enhance research in environmental Sciences. The purpose of this study is to equip faculty with the necessary skills required to search and retrieve full-text journal articles from OARE databases much more precisely and efficiently. Various methods of searching and retrieving full-text articles using OARE databases were highlighted with practical examples. Single, multiple keywords, phrase, limiters, descriptors and Boolean operators were used to conduct searches. African Journal Online, Google Scholar and EBSCOhost databases were also used to conduct advanced searches. The methods highlighted above can be used by faculty in Life sciences to conduct searches and retrieve precise number of full-text articles from OARE databases without wasting time and losing important records