LibrarySearch

It’s your most efficient route to high-quality academic sources — and it does more than you might expect:

• Searches most of Abertay’s books, articles, eBooks, theses, and Open Access content

• Shows exactly what Abertay provides full access to — avoiding time wasted on paywalls

• Offers filters for peer-reviewed content, date, format, and subject (filters let you narrow your results by criteria such as topic, date, and source type)

• Lets you save results, export to RefWorks (a referencing tool supported by the Library), and set alerts for new content

• Gives you full access to My Account, where you can check loans and requests

• Ensures accurate availability and results when you’re off-campus

Tip: Always sign in (top right) with your Abertay username and password — especially if you’re off-campus.
If you access LibrarySearch via My Abertay, you’ll already be signed in.

If you’re used to searching in Google, LibrarySearch might feel a little different — but that’s a good thing.

Most of us use short, natural-language searches in Google and let the algorithm do the rest.

But academic search tools like LibrarySearch rely more on your input to get good results.

You’ll get better results — and more confidence — once you know how to use it well.

Try these strategies to improve your results:

• Use filters (e.g. peer-reviewed, date, subject, format)

• Search with Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT)

• Use quotation marks for exact phrases

LibrarySearch is the best starting point when:

• You want to find academic books, articles, and eBooks in one place

• You’re starting a literature review or assignment and need scholarly sources

• You’re trying to locate a specific article or journal title

• You want to search across multiple disciplines or formats at once

Note: Most required readings for your modules should be accessible directly through your module’s reading list (Leganto).

But you’ll still need LibrarySearch when:

• You’re following up something mentioned in class, feedback, or another article

• You’re working on a dissertation, literature review, or any project with wider reading

• You want to check whether we have access to something not listed in Leganto

Use this when:

• You’ve come across a title in class, on a slide, in feedback, or in another source

• You’re checking availability of something you’ve heard about or seen referenced

How to search:

• Type part of the title and the author’s surname

• Use quotation marks for exact phrases

• Apply filters to narrow by format or date

Tip: This kind of search is usually quick and efficient — especially if you already know the title or author.

Use this when:

• You’re working on a literature review, dissertation, or independent research

• You need to go beyond your reading list and build your own evidence base

• You want to compare viewpoints, trace debates, or find recent studies

How to search:

• Start with 2–3 key concepts from your topic

• Combine them using AND, OR, and NOT

• Use quotation marks for phrases (e.g. "climate change")

• Apply filters for peer-reviewed sources, date, format, or subject

• Try Advanced Search to target fields like title, author, or publication year

Tip: It takes a bit more time and effort — but you’ll save time in the long run by getting better results and avoiding dead ends.

Sometimes — but the feature is limited.

LibrarySearch may show “Cited by” or “References” links on some article records. These are based on data from external sources like CrossRef and only appear when supported — so:

• Not all records include citation links

• Cited by / Reference lists may be incomplete

• You won’t get the same coverage or precision as other tools

If you're trying to follow a research trail — for example, to see which studies a paper cited (backward chaining) or who later cited it (forward chaining) — you’ll get more consistent results from:

• Google Scholar – good for finding newer papers that cite an article

• Semantic Scholar – offers citation graphs and context in STEM fields

• Scopus and Web of Science – advanced tools for tracking citations and research trends

Want to learn how to use citation chaining effectively?
See our guide: Citation Chaining Techniques

These techniques can help you get better results, save time, and make your searches more focused.

• Use quotation marks to search for exact phrases — for example: "climate change"

• Combine ideas using Boolean operators — for example: "mental health" AND adolescents

• Use filters to narrow by date, peer-reviewed content, subject, or format

• Use Advanced Search to focus your results — search within fields (e.g. title or author), match exact phrases, or limit by year

Explore more guidance:

• Search Skills: Finding Information Effectively

• Boolean Operators and Advanced Search Techniques

Yes. When you’re signed in to LibrarySearch, you can:

• Save useful items to your account to revisit later

• View your saved items from any device

• Export citations to RefWorks or copy them in standard formats

• Set alerts for new publications on your topic

These features are especially helpful when you're working on literature reviews, dissertations, or larger projects.

LibrarySearch can't search all content in some of our more specialist subject resources. The following databases should be accessed directly:

• Construction Information Service

• CINAHL (most journal articles from CINAHL are included in LibrarySearch results but we would advise you search CINAHL directly)

• Lexis Library

• Statista

• Westlaw

A small amount of content from EBSCOhost databases may also be missing. If you don’t find something, try searching these platforms directly:

• Business Source Complete

• Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection

• SPORTDiscus

• GreenFILE

If your search results look wrong, links aren’t working, or you get an error message, we’re here to help.

Please email us with as much detail as you can so we can investigate and fix the issue.

Useful information to include:

• The Permalink for the item (click the ... menu beside the title and choose Permalink)

• Details of the item — for example, the article or book title, author, journal name, or platform (e.g. ScienceDirect)

• Any ISBN or ISSN

• The exact error message, or even better, a screenshot (press Print Scrn and paste into your email)

• How you accessed the item — and whether you were signed in

Email: library@abertay.ac.uk