Peruse

Note that Peruse is specific to McGill.

You can access Peruse through a non-McGill Internet Service Provider by using VPN.

Medline is also available directly from NLM

Outline

This is a very brief introduction to Peruse. More detail is available from the library.

• 1. Connecting to Peruse
• 2. Choosing a database
• 3. Searching by subject
• 4. Searching by text word
• 5. Searching by author's name
• 6. Limiting search results
• 7. Combining sets

1. Connecting to Peruse

You will normally use Peruse via the Web interface at peruse.mcgill.ca.

Login with the username peruse and password peruse.

The first Peruse screen is News. Continue to the next screen to choose a database.

2. Choosing a database

The first Peruse screen (after the News) allows you to choose a database. Peruse contains a large number of bibliographic databases that contain titles, authors' names, and sources for journal articles. Many of the databases also include cataloguing information like subject headings. Some of the databases include abstracts in addition to the bibliographic information.

Note that some databases are divided into different time ranges.

Just click on the desired database to select it. You can click on the i to the left for more information about a particular database.

3. Searching by subject

Some databases, including Medline, use a highly structured set of subject headings to classify their contents. If such subject headings are available it's a good idea to start your search by using them, rather than just searching for text words.

When you type in a search word or words describing a single concept, the computer will attempt to match what you've typed to one or more of its standard headings. If it's not sure which one is appropriate, it will present you with a list of possibilities.

Make sure the Map Term to Subject Heading box has a check mark in it, then click on Perform Search. You can click on one of the offered subject headings to see it in the context of the subject-heading tree. You can then click on the i icon to see a Scope Note describing what that heading includes.

Once a particular subject heading has been chosen, you will be shown a hierarchical list, showing a parent (more general) subject heading and any child (more specific) subject headings.

Beside each subject heading will be the number of corresponding entries in the database. You can choose a more specific heading if you like.

Note that if you choose a subject heading which has children, all of the children may or may not be included along with it. Inclusion of the children is called exploding the term. Normally it happens by default. If you go into the tree display then it doesn't happen by default, but you can check on the Explode box if desired.

You can either include All Documents or Restrict to Focus. The former will give you more hits, maybe more than you want; the latter will give a more focussed search, but may miss too much. You can restrict to focus by checking on the Focus box.

4. Searching by text word

5. Searching by author's name

6. Limiting search results

If you get more hits than you want, you can limit the results of a search in many ways: whether it's full-text, about human subjects, in English, etc.

7. Combining sets

Sets can be combined using the Boolean operators and (gives fewer hits) and or (gives more hits).