You can find information in many different ways, including search engines like Google and the (digital) sources available at the libraries.
More and more information can be found on the internet, but it tends to be rather dispersed, and it is not always easy to determine its quality. Often you cannot access the information because it's only available in a database, or you have to log in to access the content.
Therefore the use of similarly popular search engines is problematic when you need to search for general and scientific information. As you can see in the adjacent image, this is the "surface web", or the Internet which we all have access to, though it is but a small tip, in this case literally, of the iceberg.
To find all the information sources relevant for your subject, it is better to use the information sources that have been selected by the library staff. They have been selected for their quality and currency and they offer structured information. This module goes into further detail about the following sources:
The "surface web" is merely the tip of the iceberg
Greeni - library for the green uas is a joint catalogue maintained by the libraries of Aeres University of Applied Sciences, HAS green academy and Van Hall Laresntein University of Applied Sciences.
Greeni Global Search is the search engine of Greeni. On a Google-like way you search more than one file at a time.
In addition to a catalogue with menu functions such as renewal and reservation, you will find especially for you selected internet resources, databases and electronic journals. Also you can find all about information literacy, copyrights and more.
Greeni Global Search is Greeni's search engine. One search in a Google-like way searches multiple files at once:
You use Greeni Global Search for an exploratory search for (scientific) information. Refining a search result is possible in a simple and fast way.
However, Greeni Global Search does not have the same specific search options as some specialized databases. Also, not all databases are covered by Greeni Global Search for different reasons. So if you have a specific question, you can miss information if you limit yourself to Greeni Global Search. In that case we recommend you to search the databases themselves. An overview can be found in the menu bar of Greeni under Information sources-databases.
Search box Greeni Global Search on home page
Click on the orange circles below for more information on the relevant section
Click on the orange circles below for more information on the relevant section
Open Greeni Global SearchGreeni Global Search can be reached at www.greeni.nl (search box on the home page) or directly at: http://greeni.summon.serialssolutions.com/.
Click on the next tab for more information about the Greeni catalogue.
The catalogue in Greeni is a joint catalogue maintained by the libraries of:
The catalogue has book and periodical titles, both print and online, DVDs, streaming videos and other materials. It is not possible to search on titles of articles or chapters Every student has free access to the materials in this catalogue, which is accessible online: www.greeni.nl.
On the start page of Greeni, you will find a search box for searching the catalogue:
Type one or more search terms into the search bar and then click on 'Search' to execute the search task. Two or more search terms are usually combined with the operator AND.
The search results will be shown on the following screen:
If you have entered in a search, you will receive a list of hits. In the list, you will see the cover of the material, abbreviated title information and types of material. This list enables you to quickly scroll through to see whether there are any titles that you would like to have a closer look at.
Using the restrictions found in the left-hand column, you can refine your search by document type, medium, location, keyword, year, language, (corporathe) author, modules, organisation, institute, professorship and publisher.
Clicking on a title will provide you with a full description:
The shelf location is displayed at the bottom of the screen and indicates which library has the material and on which shelf the material is stored.
For example: VHL Leeuwarden 67 7 = reference number 7 under the subject 67 in the collection of Van Hall Larenstein location Leeuwarden.
At 'Item details' you can see whether the publication has been borrowed, and if so, how long it will be checked out. Digital materials (e-books, streaming video) do not have shelf locations, but you will find a link to the material in the title information.
If present, 'Relations' (on the right-hand side of the screen) may contain a reference to a translation, older or newer print, the series to which it belongs or other/accompanying materials.
The catalogue system allows you to save selected titles, view your personal information, make reservations and renew the lending period.
My Greeni provides the following options:
The Greeni catalogue allows you to reserve materials you are interested in but happen to be lent out. Under the title information, click on the button 'Making reservations'. This will bring you to the login screen of My Greeni where you can sign in with the Single Sign-On (SSO) option, or with your borrower number and password. On the following screen, click on 'Making reservations'. The publication is now reserved for you. You will receive an e-mail confirming this. As soon as the publication becomes available, you will receive an e-mail informing you that your material is ready. You can use this same procedure to reserve materials held at other Greeni locations.
You can keep the borrowed materials for an even longer time by renewing the lending period. Via My Greeni, you can see which materials you have borrowed and will have the option of renewing them. If a publication has already been reserved, you will not be able to renew the lending period. The original due date will remain unchanged.
If you would like to know more about all you can do with Greeni, visit the FAQs or inquire at the library of your own Greeni location.
Click on the next tab for more information about databases.
A database is an organized and extendable collection of dates. The most distinguishing is that the data and presentation of the data are dynamically accessible.
A database can contain a wide range of information: usually articles from digital journals (e-journals), often entire e-books or portions thereof, visual materials, factual data and descriptions of literature.
For the most part, the information contained in these databases is inaccessible or difficult to access (free) in any other way. Databases provide systematic, structured information and they are selected by the library staff based on their relevance and quality.
HBO Kennisbank (open access) Scripties en artikelen (o.a. lectoren) van de hogescholen in Nederland
Nexis Uni (Aeres, HAS & VHL) Archive of (Dutch language) regional and (inter)national daily newspapers and journals
MarketLine Advantage (HAS) Market, branch and business reports. Besides that: country and statistical information
ScienceDirect (Aeres, HAS & VHL) Scientific journal articles in several scientific fields
SpringerLink (Aeres, HAS & VHL) Scientific journal articles in several scientific fields
Wiley (Aeres, HAS & VHL) Scientific journal articles in several scientific fields
A complete overview of databases can be found on Greeni - Information sources - Databases.
Click on the next tab for more information about search engines.
The internet has an enormous wealth of information world-wide, therefore, it can be an effective source for finding the right answer to a question. About Google, Yahoo! and Bing you've probably heard, DuckDuckGo is a search engine that is gaining popularity because of the privacy it offers to users.
The Internet has a great deal of information, but the trick is to find precisely what you are looking for amid that information explosion. There are a number of tips to help you use search engines as efficiently as possible.
The following ten tips for typing Google searches will enable you to search Google more efficiently. The most important operators and symbols when using a search engine, particularly with Google, include:
You can also perform advanced searches with search engines, but this way provides fewer options in compared with the advanced search in a database.
A more privacy-friendly alternative to the default search engines is DuckDuckGo, although it does have some limitations. DuckDuckGo performs adequately but especially when it comes to search results in Dutch, it falls short of e.g. Google and does not always find the most relevant search results. However, most of the time it does just fine and therefore Google does not prove to be absolutely necessary.
Those who still want to quickly go to Google can quickly switch from DuckDuckGo to Google by typing !g after the command in DuckDuckGo's search bar. That will then take the search query with it, making it relatively effortless to perform a particular search with Google anyway.
Google Scholar falls somewhere between a database and a search engine and, therefore, is also referred to as a scientific search engine. In terms of appearance, it resembles the typical Google search engine. A major difference, however, is that the results are limited to searching through scientific literature. By the way, the hits from Google Scholar also appear in the standard Google search, only you will need to search through numerous other hits to find them.
Google Scholar offers a simple method to search scientific literature. The search results are ranked by relevance: the full text of each article is searched while taking into account who the author is, the publication in which the article appears and how often the article has been cited in scientific literature.
Note: If you’re in school and visit Google Scholar, you’re being recognized automatically as a student, which enables you to access many full-text articles by clicking the link "Greeni Full Text". When you are at home or elsewhere off-campus, first of all, make sure you are logged in to your university's network (see remote access) and then go to Google Scholar via the Greeni database list.
You can also set it up in Google Scholar. In Google Scholar, go to 'Settings' from the menu (the three lines icon). Click 'Settings' and go to 'Library links'. Type 'Greeni' in the search box. Click on the search icon, check the selection icon at 'Greeni - online bibliotheek voor het groen hbo - Greeni Full Text' and click 'Save'.
When you go searching for literature in Google Scholar, you will now see a link to the right of some of the search results (see picture below). Click the title to go to the full-text article directly.
Click on the next tab for more information about WUR library.
Of all university libraries the library of Wageningen University & Research connect the most with the education areas of the Green universities of applied sciences. WUR Library can be found as part of the website of Wageningen University & Research and is only in English. Search terms can also be entered in the Dutch.
Externals only have access to all the information resources of the library by visiting the libary. If you can not come to the library of Wageningen University & Research it is possible to search the various sources of information but it is not possible to download all items. WUR Library does have gathered a large number of publications that are freely accessible.
The home page provides an overview of the current services provided by the library, with news, courses and recent publications. In the search box you can directly start a simple search in the main search applications. Look at "Databases & Collections" or "Research@WUR" when you are looking for a specific (recommended) journal, database or research output.
Click on "For education" to find out more about the services of these library.