Searching Proquest for Conference Articles

ProQuest Information

General Guidelines for Using ProQuest

ProQuest is an electronic database of research-based and practitioner-oriented journal articles. Many full text articles are available and accessible from your computer. ProQuest, one of the more commonly used databases by practitioners is part of the library resources through Saint Mary’s University.

 Clear all databases and select only those resources that apply for your specific search. Educational resources are: ProQuest Educational Journals and Wilson Education Abstracts.

 When doing a search in ProQuest, always start with the Advanced Search. This will provide greater search options.

 In the Advanced search, select key terms and phrases that apply to your area of interest. The ability to list these specific terms to appear in the title or text article only, depending on the word importance to the topic, enables the search to become more relevant. Example: Searching for Multiple Intelligences: . Gardner (Author) . Intelligences (Article Title) . Classroom (Article Text)

 When you find an article of interest but would like to continue searching for others, place a check in front of the article(s). They will appear in the “Marked List” tab at the top of the ProQuest search screen. You can refer back to these articles at any time while you are still logged into ProQuest.

 In the “Advanced Search” screen you will see the underlined word “Thesaurus.” The screen that appears once you click “Thesaurus” allows you to type in a topic word that will provide you with a list of other related words used within ProQuest. Replacing your word with some of the listed suggestions may help your search.

 When you reach the “Results” page, you will see at the top of the screen the database(s) that were searched, the number of articles found in the search, a list of the articles and in what type of form each article is in. To the right of the screen, click on “Sort results by” to see that you can change the order in which the articles appear: by date or by relevance. Clicking on the “Scholarly Journals” tab will give you a list of these articles that are only found in this type of resource. The same will happen for “Magazines” and “Trade Publications.”

 When you find an article of interest that is in abstract form only, make a copy of the abstract to use as a relocate the article from another source.

 After you have determined the resources you want to review, you can also create the bibliographic citations for the resources by clicking on the “Create your bibliography” link on the top of your “Results” page.

 You can also create a web page and save your search to your desktop. Click on the “My Research” button and then click on the “download” button. When the web page appears, go to file save as and name your web page of resources/research for easy access. The page will be accessible on your desktop. Professional Development Initiatives ProQuest Information Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota 2008-2009 Searching ProQuest for a Specific Article

 Log on to the Professional Development Initiatives for Educators’ website at pdi.smumn.edu

 Enter the username and password assigned to your school or district. This will provide access to the ProQuest link.

 Click on the “ProQuest” button found on the left hand side of your screen

 Click on the “clear all databases” button at the top of your screen (above the first database listing)

 Click on the Educational Databases (this will allow a quicker search)

 ProQuest Education Journals  Wilson Education Abstracts (you will have to scroll to find this)

 Click on the “Continue” button

 Click on the “Advanced Search” button

Sample article for searching (APA format) Bambino, D. (2002). Critical friends. Educational Leadership, 59 (6), 25-27.

 Type or Copy/Paste the exact title of the article

 Add quotation marks around the title

 Click on the arrow to the right of the title and select “Document title”

 Click on the “Search” button

 This search should bring up only the article requested

 If your searched article does not appear, add the Publication title and click the “Search” button.

Professional Development Initiatives ProQuest Information Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota 2008-2009