Title: Working with your Database Search Results
Course: Library - Library Sandbox > Section: Ontario Tech Library Online: Advanced Searching for Research Articles

You’ve completed a search in a database and found some useful articles. How do you save what you’ve found? Most databases will let you:

- Download: Save the article or portion of the book to your personal files
- Cite: Copy a citation (APA, MLA, etc.) or export it to your Citation Manager
- Link: Save a permanent link to an article
- Save: Save a list of search results or a search

Many of our databases have similar features, even if they look slightly different. Here is an example from the ProQuest database. Look for buttons or icons that will let you cite, save searches and download the article.

Download

Many databases will allow you to download portions or an entire copy of the article in a PDF file. In the case of EBooks, some databases will permit a number of pages or chapters to be downloaded as a PDF.

Cite

Select the Cite button and choose the citation style you want to use (different databases may use a different word, such as Reference). Copy the citation.

The citation will often include a permanent link to the article.

There are also options available to export to Citation Managers.

Save

Many databases will allow you to save article information and multiple search results through a variety of methods:

- Citation: Copy or export the citation information for multiple articles in your search results
- Email: Send the search results to yourself as an email
- Export: Save the search results as a file (.txt, .pdf, etc.) and in some cases, even save to third party software (Dropbox, Google Drive, Cloud)
- Database Account: Create a user account with the database to save your search and its results

Most often, you will have to select the records you wish to capture from you search results by selecting them via square check-boxes as pictured below.

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