Discovery Service - Frequently Asked Questions
What is Discovery?
The Discovery Service is a new search engine to help you find articles, books and other academic resources.
What’s in it?
The Discovery Service searches many library resources in one go. Finding items from the Library Catalogue and over 100 databases, it presents you with one result list of journal articles, conference papers, books, ebooks and more.
A full list of library resources and whether or not they are included in Discovery is available.
Databases are still available to search individually, whether or not they are in Discovery – find the links via a database search of the Library Catalogue or the subject pages of the library website.
What are the Additional Resources?
Some databases are shown on the right hand side of the results screen, labelled Additional Resources. We are not currently able to integrate them into the main Discovery Service results, so instead they are searched simultaneously, with results kept separate on the right hand side. To view these search results, just click on the specific Additional Resource, or tick it to include them with the main Discovery Service results.
How can I cut down the number of results?
There are a number of refining options on the left hand side of the results screen. For example, you can limit by the type of material, by subject or language.
What does “Full Text Online” mean?
This restricts results to those which you can fully access online. This might be through a University Library subscription or free material, and could be an article from a journal, a reference book entry or an ebook. The link under each item will lead you through to the full text.
What does “Available in Library Collection” mean?
This restricts results to those you can access online (the “Full Text Online” option above) plus those which are physically available in the library.
What if I need help?
Just ask at one of the library enquiry desks, contact us by email or through our chat service:
http://www.port.ac.uk/library/home/contacts/
But do remember this is a new resource to us all which we will be adjusting over the next few months.
What if I spot errors?
The Discovery Service is still in Beta development stage, so you may find minor glitches or errors. Please do let us know about these, so we can adjust the service to be fully ready for next academic year. Just send an email with specifics of the search or link you were using to the library email elibrary@port.ac.uk
