Instructions for Using the Database

Use the table of contents below to jump to the topic of interest.

Search Options
General Search Help
Field Search Help
Limit Fields
Display Options
Full-Text Availability
Browse Options

Search Options

You may search the database using two options.

Basic Search allows you to search for any word or combination of words within a reference using a single query box. You may search within an entire reference using All Fields or select one of the following fields: title, author, affiliation, volume title, volume author, source, publication year, research program, key words, record ID, CODEN, ISBN/ISSN or tag.

Advanced Search allows you to search for any word or combination of words within a reference as well as by the specific fields listed above plus the date first indexed. You may choose multiple fields by adding additional search fields. For additional information on Advanced Search, see Help with Advanced Search

Geographic Search allows you to search on a map-based interface by selecting a rectangle surrounding the area of interest. The map may be moved by dragging the map so that the area of interest is visible, and/or by using the zoom in (+) and zoom out (-) tools. The majority of the publications referenced in the database pertain to ocean regions where few geographic names appear on the maps. Do not be alarmed by the lack of detail.

General Search Help

Search Tips shows the proper syntax to use when searching for words and phrases, along with examples of each technique. Topics include:

Other topics include how to use advanced search features such as the AND-OR-NOT droplists and how to search using a range (commonly used for searching dates).

Field Search Help

Field search help shows you what information is contained in each database field, and also offers examples on how to optimize your queries for searching these fields. Use the table of contents below to jump to the topic of interest.


Title

Single words from titles may be searched separately or by using the Search operators.

Type the word you want to find (bauxite) or type a phrase (electron paramagnetic resonance) to find those words, in that order. To find variations of word stems, type an asterisk at the end of one or more words (elast* wave*). Use the Boolean AND, OR, NOT or the proximity operator ~. See examples below.

Type this... To find...
fecal pellets a phrase (those words, in that order)
lead OR zinc either word (or both)
benthic AND foraminifera items that contain both words (items that contain just one of the words will be ignored)
sediments NOT lacustrine "sediments" but not "lacustrine"
"Labrador Sea"~5 "Labrador" within 5 or fewer words of "Sea"

Author

Author names may be searched using last names or by entering the last name followed by the initials or names.

Examples:

In these examples, "smith" will retrieve all of the forms that follow.

Searching "smith, r." will retrieve "smith, r.b.j." as well as "smith, r.". To retrieve only smith, r.b.j., enclose the search string in quotes, e.g. “smith, r.b.j.”

Affiliation

Author affiliations may be searched using words or phrases from the authors' organizations.

Volume Title

Individual words within the title of a special volume may be searched separately. For examples, see Title Field.

Volume Author

Editors of special volumes may be searched separately. For examples, see Author Field.

Source

The source field contains journal titles, meeting names, publishers, volume and issue numbers, report numbers and page numbers. Search single words or phrases as follows:

Type the word you want to find (EOS) or type a phrase (Journal of Geophysical Research) to find those words, in that order. To find variations of word stems, type an asterisk at the end of one or more words (sediment* hum*). Use the Boolean AND, OR, NOT and the proximity operator ~.

Type this... To find...
Ohio State University a phrase (those words, in that order)
U.S. OR United States either word (or both)
Deep AND Sea AND Drilling items that contain all words (items that contain just one of the words will be ignored)
Army NOT Corps of Engineers "Army" but not "Corps of Engineers"
"Labrador Sea"~5 "Labrador" within 5 or fewer words of "Sea"

Year of Publication

Search the Year of Publication as a four-digit number.

Research Program

Search the Research Program using its acronym or words and phrases from its title. For the International Ocean Discovery Program’s acronym used IODP2.

Key Words

Search for individual key words assigned to each reference.

Record ID

The Record ID is a unique number starting and may be used to find known items.

Coordinates

Search for records containing specific coordinates. Coordinates searches must follow this format:
Latitude coordinates: [NS][nnnnnn] (example: N174959 or S335006)
Longitude coordinates: [WE][nnnnnnn] (example: E1454902 or W0303315)

You may search by a partial or full set of coordinates. Example of a search for a full set of coordinates:
N174959 N175000 E1454902 E1454901

CODEN

CODEN is a six-digit code assigned to series. ISSN is preferred for more recent journals.

ISBN/ISSN

ISBN is the International Standard Book Number. It is either a ten-digit or a thirteen-digit number, e.g. 87-90145-66-6. It may be searched with and without the hyphens. ISSN is the International Standard Serial Number. It is an eight-digit number, e.g. 1040-6182.

Tag

Administrative users may add and delete tags from individual records; however, all users may search on the Tag field to find records that have been tagged with a specific term by administrative users.


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Limit Fields

Year of Publication – limits a search to given range of years

Format – allows you to select only specific types of publications, including whether the publication is available online

Region – limits a search to publications containing specific geographic region key words

IODP Program Publications – limits a search to publications published by the IODP Program

Expedition – limits a search to the specified IODP expedition(s) (Expeditions 301-)

Legs – limits a search to the specified ODP leg(s) (Legs 101-210)

Sites – limits a search to the specified ODP or IODP site(s)

Author – limits a search to the specified author(s)

Language – allows you to choose English or any other preferred language

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Display Options

Results are presented in Brief View. To see a more complete reference, click on the title. You may choose to select items for Email, Text, Export, and Print. Export allows for references to be exported to citation managers.

If you have an account, you may add items to your favorites list and return later to review them. Search results can be further filtered by Suggested Key Words, Suggested Availability, Year of Publication, Format, Region, IODP Program Publications, Expedition, Leg, Site, Author, and Language.

If you expand an item to the full view, you have options to see suggested bibliographic records, text or email the item to a colleague, export the record, and add it to favorites.

Similar items appear in both the Brief and Full views and are selected based on similarities with the references that you are viewing. In addition to Similar Items displays, a MARC record view is available with each full record view.


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Full-Text Availability

Where available, click on the "Get full text" link to view full-text on-screen. Many publications are freely available on-screen and will be viewable in your browser. Other publications may be available if your institution has a current subscription. If your institution does not have a subscription, you will usually be able to view an online abstract and may be offered an option to purchase a publication.


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Browse Options

The following fields can be used to browse references in the database:

There are two ways to browse references in the database: Browse Alphabetically and Browse the Database.

Browse Alphabetically
You can browse the database alphabetically by a single field. You may limit your browsing by starting from a specified text string. For example, you could browse by author name, starting at "Smith".

Browse the Database
You can browse the database in a hierarchical fashion using multiple fields. For example, you could browse the database to find all references that are related to Expedition 302 and Leg 151 by first selecting Expedition, then selecting Leg 151, and then selecting Expedition 302.