May 11, 2020
How to save your search in EBSCO
In this post we will show how to setup an EBSCO account and save searches to run again later
Contents
Introduction
You may wish to save a search strategy and re-run it at a later date either in the same EBSCO database or another. To save your search you will first need to create an account on the EBSCO platform, you can use that same account to save searches on all the EBSCO products.
Tip: It is important to note that you are saving the search strategy, not the exact set of results you have found that day.
The databases are regularly updated and therefore any new records that are relevant to your search criteria will be included in the results when you re-run your search. The numbers usually only increase subtly. The only time the number of results may decrease is if you have included a search limit such as “Last 5 Years” and a new year has begun when you re-run your search.
Creating an EBSCO account
To create an EBSCO account:
- Click on the ‘Sign In’ link at the top of the opening search screen in EBSCO (as shown in the screenshot below).
2. Next click on the ‘Create one now’ link shown under the button that pops up.
3. Complete the sign up form with your details. Please note it is important to keep a record of your username and password. The Library will not be able to retrieve this for you if you forget it.
When you have created your account you will be able to save your searches.
Save your search strategy
- Return to the EBSCO search screen and make sure you have logged into your account. When your logged in your account name should then appear at the top right side of the search screen.
- Conduct a search then click ‘Save Searches/Alerts’ to save your strategy and run again later.
3. Next you will prompted to give some details about your search strategy. This includes:
- Giving your search a name.
- Saving your search permanently or for the next 24 hours or choose to alert you.
If you select alert, you will receive notifications of any new articles which are found to be relevant to your search, when the database is updated at a time of your choosing.
4. Finally click the ‘Save’ button to save your search.
It is important to remember that if you make further changes to your search and you wish to save them, you must click on ‘Save Searches/Alerts’ again otherwise subsequent changes will be lost if you close the database down
Retrieving your saved searches
- Open the EBSCO database and log into your account using the sign in link at the top of your screen.
- Click ‘Folder’ at the tops of the screen (shown in the screenshot below).
3. You will see ‘My Folder’ is located to the left side of your search screen. (Please note — If you have previously saved specific articles these may automatically display in the centre of your screen). Scroll down the column to find your ‘Saved Searches’ (shown below).
4. Click ‘Saved Searches’.
5. Click to select the tick box next to the specific search you wish to re-run.
6. Finally click ‘ Retrieve Saved Search’ and you search results will then be displayed.
Summary
In this post we have looked at creating an EBSCO account, saving your search strategy and finding your saved searches in EBSCO.
You can find further support for advanced searching and systematic reviews at the end of this post.
