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Information Science & Technology abstracts (ista) databases - searching

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About ISTA

Information Science and Technology Abstracts (ISTA) is a leading database in the areas of information science. Coverage includes classification, cataloging, bibliometrics, online information retrieval, information management, search engines, printed and electronic information sources, the information industry, scholarly communication, electronic publishing, and more. ISTA indexes journal articles from more than 450 publications plus books, research reports, and conference proceedings and patents, with ongoing comprehensive coverage of the most important periodicals in this field. With coverage extending back to the mid 1960s, it is the oldest continuously produced database covering the field of information science.

Getting into ISTA

  • Log into GALILEO.  If you’re off campus, log in through Anywhere Access.

  • Select Social Sciences, and then click on the Education link.

Highlights the Social Sciences tab in GALILEO with Education link selected
  • Now click on the link to Information Science & Technology Abstracts

Highlights ISTA in the Education databases

Basic Search

  • Log into ISTA

  • In the Find window, type in your search terms.

  • Use Boolean Operators and Truncation to limit your results.  Put phrases in double quotation marks (“ “).

  • Left-click on Search

highlights cataloging in the find window of the basic search view, and the search button

Advanced Search

The Advanced Search allows you to search within particular fields. Let's use the example of searching for articles that have the word "indexing" in the title, but were written by individuals with the last name “Johnson.”

  • Log into ISTA

  • Left-click on the Advanced Search tab.

  • In the first box, type in indexing, and then select TI Title in the drop-down menu.

  • In the second box, type in Johnson, and then select AU Author in the drop-down menu.

  • Left-click on Search.

highlights the advanced search button, searching for indexing in the title, and johnson as the author.

ISTA also provides ways to refine your results, as seen above:

  • Linked Full Text – only those items that have full-text articles available through EBSCOhost provided databases. However, you may have access to full-text articles through non-EBSCOhost databases. For more information, read Getting Your Hands on the Articles.
  • References Available – only those items that have references.
  • Scholarly (Peer Review) Journals – Peer reviewed items
  • Publication – only those items within a certain journal/magazine.
  • Published Date – published within these dates.
  • Publication Type – only items of a certain type (periodical, conference paper, book or newspaper)
  • Number of Pages – only those items of a certain number of pages.
  • Document Type –Cover Story – only cover stories.

Narrow Results by Subject

If you find that you are getting too many results, you can quickly reduce your results by narrowing by subject.

  • Perform a search in ISTA

  • On the left side of the screen, look at the subjects listed under Narrow Results by Subject.

  • Click on an appropriate subject to narrow your results.

highlights the "narrow results by subject" box in the search results

Cited References Search

ISTA also gives the option of searching for cited references.  This will show items that have citations of a particular author, source, title or year.

  • Log into ISTA

  • Left-click on the Cited References link.

  • Type in the name of the cited Author, Title, Source or Year.

  • Left-click on Search.

shows searching by cited author "Johnson, b"
  • Your results will show cited works that have been indexed in ISTA

displays the results of the cited author "Johnson, B"

Times Cited in this Database

  • Some records in ISTA will display Times Cited in this Database.

Highlights the link for "Times Cited in this Database" from the individual record view.
  • If you click the Times Cited in this Database hyperlink on a Result, the Citing Articles sub-tab presents a list of records that cite your original article.

Shows the resulting article list from clicking on "Times Cited in this Database"

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