The database ScienceDirect provides access to a vast amount of information on a variety of topics (including physical sciences, engineering, life sciences, health sciences, social sciences and humanities) from around the world. Learn how to use the advanced search functions to locate useful information effectively and efficiently.
Accessing ScienceDirect
Access the database ScienceDirect by typing in the following address https://my.sit.ac.nz. Enter your SIT email address and password to open the MySIT page.
Access the online databases via the library’s MySIT page, click on the Library tab in the top ribbon.
Click the Online Databases & Journals tile to open the A-Z of online databases and electronic journals.
The A – Z of databases will open in a new window. Click the ScienceDirect link in the Featured Databases box.
The ScienceDirect landing page will open in a new window.
The advanced search format on ScienceDirect looks quite different to other databases. However, it is still a great database to search for academic articles it just requires a slightly different search approach.
Creating an advanced search
None of the available fields are mandatory. You are simply required to complete at least one search bar with searchable information. Unless you are looking for a specific journal or book the library recommends using the search bars Find articles with these terms and Year(s).
The search bar Find articles with these terms allows you to use multiple keywords and use the search techniques phrase searching (quotation marks), Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) and nested searching (use of brackets).
Applying filters after a search
When the database returns the search results you can refine your search results by applying filters. The filters panel is displayed on the left side of the screen. You do not need to utilise all available filters, select the filters that are relevant for your search.
Organising the results list
By default, the results are sorted by relevance. To sort by date, click the date option.
At the bottom of the page use the display options to set how many results are displayed on each page.
Accessing articles
After running a search, you can directly open the pdf by clicking View PDF or click the title to go to the article’s detailed record.
The detailed records of some articles will have the option of HTML full text and view PDF.
Scroll down the page to view the article in HTML format or select a particular section of the article from the outline menu. Click on View PDF to view the article in PDF format. You can then save or print the article.
Reading the PDF version of the article
Within the PDF reader you can download or print the article.
When only the article's abstract is available...
When searching you will come across articles that are abstract only, meaning only the abstract is available to read.
In this situation you can request the article through interlibrary loan. Email the library (library@sit.ac.nz) the article’s title, authors, name of journal, year, volume number, issue number (if applicable) and page range.
My account is where you manage search alerts, view your search and reading history and receive recommendations. My account is accessed using your SIT login details.
Signing in to My Account
Click the My Account link in the top right corner.
Click Sign in via your organization.
In the Organization name or email section type Southern Institute of Technology and click Southern Institute of Technology from the drop-down menu.
Enter your SIT email address and click Continue.
Enter your SIT password and click Sign in.
Remember you MUST sign in to create search alerts and retain your search and reading history.
Search alerts save valuable research time and can be set up to provide automatic email notification whenever new search results become available.
Creating a search alert
After running a search, on the results page select Set search alert.
Enter a name for this search alert, click the arrow to select the frequency (weekly or monthly) you want the search to run and click Save.
Following the frequency set in your search alert, you will receive an email with a clickable link to view new search results for your search or clickable titles to jump straight to a specific article.
Managing your search alerts
To access your search alerts, you must be signed in to your My Account. Once signed in, click the My Account icon located in the top right corner and select Manage alerts.
Click the Search tab to view your search alerts. From this page you can view the latest results for your search, edit your search alert or delete the alert.
Search history
When you are signed in to your My Account on ScienceDirect, your searches are automatically added to your search history page.
To access your search history, sign in to your My Account. Once signed in, click the My Account icon located in the top right corner and select Search history.
Your search history page lists up to 100 of your most recent searches on ScienceDirect. It also shows the most recent date and time when you ran those searches.
Reading history
When you are signed in to your My Account on ScienceDirect, the articles you read are added to your reading history page each time you access them.
To access your reading history, sign in to your My Account. Once signed in, click the My Account icon located in the top right corner and select Reading history.
Your reading history page lists up to 100 articles/chapters you have recently read in ScienceDirect and the most recent date and time you read the document.
Recommendations
The Recommendations service finds research on ScienceDirect that is directly related to the content you've recently viewed on the platform while signed in to My Account. These suggestions are then emailed to you on a weekly basis, or you can view a list of recommended articles on ScienceDirect.
Recommendations is powered by an adaptive algorithm that uses your signed-in activity on ScienceDirect to understand your research interests. It then searches the ScienceDirect database to find related content. The most relevant 3-5 pieces of research are emailed to you on a weekly basis.
Accessing your recommendations
To access your recommendation, sign in to your My Account. Once signed in, click the My Account icon located in the top right corner and select Recommendations.
To access a chapter or article on your full recommendations list click on the title.
Recommendations will be emailed to you weekly.
Searching for journals and books
Browse journal and book titles by selecting Journals & Books in the top right corner.
Search or filter the publication list to find specific journal or book titles.
Books
From a book’s details page access individual chapters (if available in full text), search within the book, export chapter references into EndNote and more.
Journals
From a journal’s details page access different journal issues and articles (if available in full text), search within the journal, export article references into EndNote and more.
Journal issue's page
From the journal's details page you can select a specific issue. Each issue's details page provides access to articles (if available in full text) published in this particular issue, the option to download articles, read abstracts, export article references into EndNote and navigate to other issues of this journal.
Science Direct Tutorials provide visual guides to using the database including performing an advanced search, reviewing documents and browsing journals. Click the link below to access these tutorials.