Religion Index: Database Guide

Religion Index, produced by the American Theological Library Association (ATLA), covers Biblical studies, world religions, Church history, and religious perspectives on social issues. Worldwide coverage includes references and abstracts from over 1,400 international journals and 14,000 multi-author works in more than 30 languages. Years of coverage include 1949 to the present.

Web access to Religion Index is provided through OVID. OVID is search and retrieval software that allows users to access the information in this bibliographic database. Access is restricted to students, faculty, and staff of Connecticut College. Items referenced in Religion Index are not necessarily owned by Connecticut College--check the online catalog for holdings. References that are not available from the CTW Library Consortium can be requested through Interlibrary Loan.

After connecting to Religion Index, the Main Search Page will appear. You may search for references in the database by keyword, author, monograph or article title, and journal title. Keyword or phrase search is the default option.

Keyword Search | Author Search | Title Search | Journal Search | Search Fields
Display Results | Combine Searches | Limit Searches | Advanced Searches

A keyword search will locate all documents in the database that contain the search terms within titles, abstracts, or subject headings. You will retrieve better search results if you enter one word or a single concept at a time. The results of two or more single searches can be combined later (see Combine Searches). To perform a keyword search:

• Click on the Keyword button (if not already selected).
• Enter the search term(s) in the text entry box.
• Click on the Perform Search button.

• Select the subject headings to include, or search as keyword.
• Select the combine option: AND or OR (see Combine Searches).
• Click on the Continue button.

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An author search will locate all documents in the database written by a specific person. To perform an author search:

• Click on the Author button (if not already selected).
• Enter the author's last name followed by a space and the first initial, if known, in the text entry box.
• Click on the Perform Search button.
• Select the authors to include from the display of index entries and click on the Perform Search button again.

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A title search will locate all documents in the database that contain the search terms within the document title. To perform a title search:

• Click on the Title button (if not already selected).
• Enter the search term(s) in the text entry box.
• Click on the Perform Search button.

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A journal search will locate all documents in the database that appear in a particular journal. You can later combine this search with other searches to limit your findings to particular journals (see Combine Searches). To perform a journal search:

• Click on the Journal button (if not already selected).
• Enter the first few words of the journal name, without abbreviations, in the text entry box.
• Click on the Perform Search button.
• Select the journals to include from the display of index entries and click on the Perform Search button again.

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A field search will locate all documents in the database that contain the search terms within a particular document field. To perform a field search:

• Click on the Search Fields button.
• Enter the search term(s) in the text entry box.
• Select the field(s) to search.
• Click on the Perform Search button to search directly. OR, click on the Display Index(es) button to select terms to include from the display of index entries and then click on the Perform Search button.

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Each search string, and number of results retrieved, is displayed in the Search History table on the Main Search Page. To view a set of search results:

• Click on the Display option in the Search History table.

• Click on the Abstract option or the Complete Reference option.

• Click on the Titles Display button.

• Click on the Main Search Page button.

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The results of two or more searches can be combined to perform another search. The default combine option is AND. AND is a Boolean operator that makes search results smaller. If you perform a search on "apples" AND "oranges," then both terms must be present in a reference. OR is a Boolean operator that makes search results larger. If you perform a search on "apples" OR "oranges," then only one of the terms must be present in a reference. To combine two or more searches:

• Click on the Combine button.
• Select the searches to combine.
• Select the combine option: AND or OR.
• Click on the Perform Search button.

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The results of a search can be limited to retrieve a smaller, more precise set of references. For example, you may limit search results to materials available in English, to journal articles, to essays, or to reviews. You may also select a publication time span for the documents. To limit a search:

• Click on the Limit button.
• Select the search to limit from the Search History table.
• Select the appropriate limit option(s).
• Click on the Limit Search button.

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For more precise search results, use Boolean, truncation, and adjacency operators when entering search terms in the text entry area. Some of these operators are outlined in the following table. For more advanced searching techniques, click on the Help button.

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Subject and Research Guides
Last updated March 9, 2000 by Sandra Stauffer.