Using CAB Abstracts (AGORA)

This is a simple search interface that enables you to retrieve results from a number of journals by different publisher. It is similar to the way you would search Google or other search engines using keywords.

Note that, once you enter the database, it notes that you can ‘Search AGORA records from the CAB Abstracts Database’.

Using the Search Wizard The Search Wizard gives you advanced search options that you can use to combine different keywords. Boolean operators are used in this interface, however it is very simplified for ease of use.

Scopus (AGORA) Scopus, launched in November 2004, is the largest abstract and citation database containing both peer-reviewed research literature and quality web sources. With over 18,000 titles from more than 5,000 international publishers, Scopus offers researchers a quick, easy and comprehensive resource to support their research needs in the scientific, technical, medical and social sciences fields and, more recently, also in the arts and humanities. Being from a AGORA registered institution, and having logged into AGORA, you will be able to use this and the other resources in the Bibliographic Databases list. Scopus features include a simple and intuitive interface, links to full-text articles and other library resources, Citation Tracker to simply find, check and track citations, Affiliation Identifier to automatically identify and match an organization with all its research output, Journal Analyzer provides a quick insight into journal performance, Alerts, RSS and HTML feeds to stay up-to-date, Document Download Manager to download and organize multiple full-text articles, and Data export via bibliographic managers such as RefWorks, EndNote and BibTeX.

We have entered ‘maize production AND developing countries’ in the Search For box with the Article, Title Abstract or Keywords options. In the Limit to box, we have activated the ‘all years to present’ Date Range and ‘All’ Document Type plus checked all the Subject Areas boxes. Note how the initial page has the ‘Brought to you by AGORA’ message in the top right corner.

Note options for the search results - Download, PDF, Export, Print, Email, Create Bibliography – plus the ‘Sort by’ options.

In the next slides, we have activated the ‘View at publisher’ icon and accessed the full-text articles including for the ‘Technological trends, global market, and challenges of bio-ethanol production’ from Biotechnology Advances.

Scopus (Elsevier) - same as AGORA SCOPUS covers all of the scientific topics included in OARE and also covers the subjects of the other R4L programmes. It is updated daily and includes over 29 million abstracts from 15,000 peer-reviewed titles/4,000 publishers. Note that some Group B or Group A with exclusions may NOT have access to Scopus.

Environmental Index (EBSCO)

Environment Index offers wide coverage in applicable areas of ecosystem ecology, energy, renewable energy sources, natural resources, marine & freshwater science, geography, pollution & waste management, environmental technology, environmental law, public policy, social impacts, urban planning, and more. Using environment index you can search for information in 1.6 million articles from more than 1,600 domestic and international titles and 100 monographs. Remember - in order to access the databases and the full-text articles, you must be logged into OARE.

This database is a product of EBSCO This database is a product of EBSCO. The interface is similar to other databases available via the R4L programmes (e.g. CINAHL for Hinari).

Advanced Search

Environmental Science and Pollution Management (CSA) Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management provides comprehensive coverage of the following disciplines: Biotechnology, Air quality, Aquatic pollution, Bacteriology, Energy resources, Environmental biotechnology, Environmental engineering, Hazardous waste, Industrial hygiene, Microbiology related to industrial & environmental issues, Pollution: land, air, water, noise, solid waste, radioactive, Risk assessment, Safety science, Toxicology & toxic emissions, Water pollution, Waste management. Users of Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management can search for scientific research in more than 1.8 million articles from thousands of scientific publications.

Other Resources - HINARI There are a number of other full text resources in addition to publishers journal collections, these can be accessed from the list on the right-hand side of the website. If you go to the ‘Reference sources’ section on the on the Full-text journals, databases and other resources page you will see a number of resources such as, dictionaries and encyclopedias. In this example, we have clicked on the ‘Databases and Indexes’ and have access to a series of useful resources. Note the number of regional bibliographic databases.

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Other Resources - AGORA

Other Resources - OARE

Training Material (HINARI) We have displayed the Training Modules section of the HINARI training page. Modules 1-7 comprise the majority of information used in the extensive ‘train the trainers’ workshops. Module 4 contains 6 different sections on all the facets of HINARI/PubMed including BabelMeSH. Module 7 contains several modules on underutilized or new material available via HINARI (Evidence-based practice resources for HINARI users, E-books available for HINARI users, CINAHL).

This second display from the HINARI page highlights many of the resources for Brief Training including the Short Course PowerPoint Presentation and, in the ‘Training Tools’ section, HINARI – the basics 2 page Word document and HINARI Access Problems and Solutions PowerPoint presentation. Also note the Authorship Skills section. This last section’s modules were developed after requests from participants in workshops and can be a separate one-day course.

Training Material (AGORA) This page contains the links to PowerPoint presentations for components aspects of AGORA including one titled ‘Tips for Trainers.. These resources are useful for further (in-depth) learning about the topics in the Short Course and also for presentations or courses at your institution. As the box in the slide notes, these presentations can be adapted.

This page contains the exercise worksheets (Word documents) for the various PowerPoint presentations on the previous page.

Training Material (OARE) This page contains the links to PDF files and PowerPoint presentations. These resources are useful for further (in-depth) learning about the topics in the Short Course and also for presentations or courses at your institution. They are especially useful for training other users at your institution. Open the modules that are of interest to you. The PPT presentations can be adapted to your institution’s training needs.

The module’s workbooks contain numerous hands-on exercises.

Training Material (OARE) This page contains the links to PDF files and PowerPoint presentations. These resources are useful for further (in-depth) learning about the topics in the Short Course and also for presentations or courses at your institution. They are especially useful for training other users at your institution. Open the modules that are of interest to you.

The module’s workbooks contain numerous hands-on exercises.

R4L Distance Learning Courses If you have colleagues that use either the AGORA (agriculture research) or OARE (environmental research) programmes, please tell them about these Short Courses. Last updated: 2013 03