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The University of Bolton Library

Using Discover@Bolton

Glossary of Terms

Here are some of the commonly used terms and phrases used when we talk about Discover@Bolton and about Academic Databases in general.

Academic Database

An Academic Database is a collection of various Academic Resources that you can search in. They will generally contain journals, articles, books, E-books or other academic resources, or a mixture of several. Sometimes they will be dedicated to one subject area; others, like Discover@Bolton, will contain a wide variety of subject resources. For a full list of Academic Databases that we have access to, see our A-Z List of Databases.

 
Advanced Search

An advanced search in Discovery@Bolton, and in other Academic Databases, is a way of allowing you to build more detailed searches than using the default search bar. You can add separate search terms on different lines, link them together with various operators, and select which filters you wish to use. For more detailed information, see Advanced Searching.

 
And

One of the Boolean search operators, AND can be used to link different search words or phrases together, and will ensure everything linked will be represented in the results you get back. For more detailed information, see Advanced Searching.

 
Book

Reference to a 'Book' will usually be referring to print books, the physical copies found in the library etc.

 
Boolean

Boolean is a form of searching that uses various operators to get more precise search results. It is the way you will search in the vast majority of academic databases, including Discover@Bolton, especially when using the advanced search function. For more detailed information, see Advanced Searching.

 
Filters

Filters are sets of criteria you can apply to your search to better get what you are looking for.