Gale 1-800-877-GALE manual Search Options, Content Levels

SEARCH OPTIONS

Powerful search capabilities deliver concise results. Search one of five ways from the main screen. It is easy to perform a full-scale search by selecting a topic from the alphabetical list of more than 80 topics just by clicking on the topic. If your topic is not in the list, you can type it in the Basic Search box from which you can select from a pull-down menu to search by subject, keyword, or full text.

From the main screen you can also perform Advanced, Person, Publication, or Science Standards, or Timeline searches. Search results are returned in six different folder tabs: Reference, Magazines, Academic Journals, Newspapers, Multimedia and Web sites.

CONTENT LEVELS

When articles are returned in the results list, the content level is indicated to the left of the citation by one of three different icons representing Basic, Intermediate and Advanced. The icons associated with each of these levels help describe the degree of detail and difficulty each information source pro- vides. The levels coincide with stages of research: from basic research for facts about a topic to deeper research for more background and context to a sophisticated information need for scholarly details and recent developments.

The content levels are assigned to each periodical and refer- ence set based on the publisher’s age recommendations. They are not assigned to each individual article.

This general approach allows students and teachers to choose the articles that best suit particular needs, acknowl- edging that many students read below or above their particu- lar grade level.

Further, the Content Level icons indicate the sources’ intend- ed audiences. Thomson Gale creates research materials for targeted audiences (e.g., U•X•L® is for grades 5 and up), and these publisher recommendations, along with the amount of detail, are the basis of the designated content levels. Each content level is described below.

Basic content provides a good overview for any student beginning a research project. It not only provides a founda- tion of key facts about a topic, but introduces keywords to help students who continue their research in other materials or on related topics. Basic content level sources are generally those published for readers up to the eighth-grade level.

Intermediatecontent builds on the research or information at a basic level. For a more experienced researcher, these arti- cles cover a topic in more detail, offering more background information as well as contextual information to expand on the facts. An Intermediate content level indicates a source published for students from a seventh-grade comprehension level up through undergraduates, as well as the general pub- lic.

Advancedcontent allows a student to complete the most sophisticated assignments requiring the latest news and details at a scholarly or professional level.

Subject Search: Science Resource Center features a hierarchi- cal subject guide designed to help you conduct research by topic. It’s usually best to search for only one or two words at one time in order to retrieve desired results. If you enter more than one word, enter the most important word first, even if that looks backwards. You don’t have to enter every word of a subject heading to get a match.

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