ECU Library Search
The ECU library is obviously the first place to search when you need information of academic quality, but we also have a wide variety creative resources such as films, music, photographs, technical manuals etc that can help inform your art.
There are several ways to approach searching using ECU Library Search. You can search for an item using Author/Artist name, Title of the work, subject area, keywords, etc. It is similar to the way you would use any electronic search engine.
For example if you type in "Hugh Jackman" into the search bar of ECU Library Search the results will bring up access to 26 movies that star Hugh Jackman (on DVD and streaming), the CDs of music from A Boy from Oz and Disney's beauty and the beast: the Broadway musical as well as articles from both academic journals and newspapers about Hugh Jackman.
If we had any books either by, or about, Hugh Jackman, these would also appear in your search results.
If you use Google to search for information you will only be able to access things are are publicly and freely available.
Using ECU Library Search will allow you to search ECU Library holdings for items that are not freely and legally available elsewhere.
ECU has paid for access to these items, and as a member of the ECU community these items are available to you free of charge.
ECU Library Search Tips
You can search for items by using ECU WorldSearch. You can search by title, author, subject or keyword.
Below are some tips on using ECU Library Search. You can download this tip sheet here.
ECU Library Search Tip Sheet
ECU Library Search provides instant access to books, journal articles, newspaper articles, DVD’s, eBooks and more through one simple search.
Use search terms and connectors to locate information and then use the menu on the left and refine your search to limit to the items you need.
Search Terms and Connectors
Search Term |
Function |
Example |
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“phrase searching” |
Use quotation marks “” to search for a particular term or phrase in that order, not for every individual word. |
"Method Acting" Returns 1400 results (primarily on acting method) Method Acting (without "quote marks") Returns 619 000 results (mostly on Sociology, Engineering, Business, etc.) |
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AND, OR, NOT |
AND – joins concepts and narrows the search OR – use synonyms to broaden the search, including alternative or related terms NOT - exclude unrelated terms or topics and narrows the search |
"Method Acting" AND Psychology Use this to link different concepts to receive results that deal with both "Method Acting" OR "Affective Memory" To make sure you are not missing related materials "Method Acting" OR "Affective Memory" NOT Stanislavski If you want materials on the technique, but not on their particular work |
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Truncation |
# - represents a single character at the end of your search term: Map# = map or maps * - searches for the search term and its variations: Securit* = security, securities...etc. |
Shakespeare* For "Shakespeare" OR "Shakespearean" |
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Wildcard |
? - represents 0-9 characters within a single term: Organi?ation = organisation, organization |
Refine your search
Filter |
Function |
Example |
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Select your Library |
Limit your search to "Edith Cowan University" to filter your search results to items held by ECU. Note, ECU Library Search defaults to items held with ECU, you can select "Worldwide" to check other WA University Libraries (check the music collection at UWA!) When you select an item and view more details about it, the filters will move out of view. To retrieve the filters, click the view filters link from the top left of the screen. |
("Method Acting" OR "Affective Memory") AND Psychology 1300 items at ECU (2300 items in libraries worldwide) |
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Content |
Select "Peer Reviewed" if you are looking for Academic Journal Articles. Note, this will limit your results to Journal Articles, which may inadvertently exclude otherwise highly credible research material. |
Limiting your results to "Peer Reviewed" cuts them down to 973 items |
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Format |
If you do not require "Peer Reviewed" items, leave that filter unchecked, and you can limit by "Format." Select the format type you want to retrieve e.g. articles, books, eBooks, and more by ticking the boxes next to the words. Click on See All to view the full list of format terms. Each time you tick a box, your filters will be added to the ‘Selected Filters’ list at the top – you can click on the cross next to the words to delete a filter. The numbers in brackets shows the number of items available in that category. |
Selecting "Video" may return feature films, documentaries, etc. |
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Year |
Select Last 5 Years, Last 10 Years, Last 25 Years or enter a date range e.g. from 1985 through 1990, and click on ‘Change Year’. |
Limiting to current research (5 years) filters to 196 results |
Subject |
Select a variety of "Subjects" to help narrow your search. The topics change based on your search terms, and you can expand this list to see the full range available.
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Saving, Citing, and Sharing
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Item Detail
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Click on the Title to reveal an Item Detail panel. Close this panel by clicking Close Item Detail.
Click View all editions to see multiple copies and editions with the same title held by ECU Libraries.
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View the Item / Read online |
Click Access online to open an online item.
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Save an Item |
Click on the star/save icon to send items to My List at the top of the page. |
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Select the drop down arrow to see Email record so you can email the list to your student record, and/or Cite and export to Endnote.
To return to ECU Worldsearch, click the back arrow.
Items in My List will only stay for the browser session – Be sure to email them or save the citation before you close the window. |
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Cite or Email |
Click on the ‘Cite’ icon and select the APA format to view the citation or reference for the item or article. Then copy/paste this into your document, or export the citation to your EndNote Library.
Note: be sure to check this for accuracy with the APA 6th style before using it in an assessment. |
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Search Results
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View the Search Results at the top of the screen.
Results are sorted by Library and Relevance as a default
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Advanced Search
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From the Library Homepage click on the Advanced Search for more specific keyword searching in various fields e.g. author, keyword, title, etc. from the dropdown arrows. |
