Foreign Broadcast Information Service Publications
(SuDocs Number:  PREX 7.10/3:)

Jennifer McMullen & Barbara Bell,
The College of Wooster


SCOPE

The FBIS CD-ROM contains full-text articles from the Foreign Broadcast Information Service daily reports.  The disc is published quarterly.

SEARCHING

This database uses a Windows interface and presents you with a search box in which you can fill in your search terms.  To fill in a field, use your mouse to select one box, type in the information, and then repeat the process for any other fields you wish to use.  Among the fields you can search are:

Word:			This apparently will search all fields.
AND:			This will initiate a Boolean search combining your terms.
BUT NOT:		This will exclude any terms you designate.
Title:		Words entered here will be searched only in the title field.
Doc Type:		This appears to be a generally unhelpful field.
Source Lang:  	Most are in English, but this will pull up other languages as well.
City Source:	This field refers to the city from which an article is reported.
After Date:		You can type in a date in the mm/dd/yy format.

For the text-based fields, you can also use the Word Wheel to select appropriate terms.  To do this, click on the down arrow at the end of each box.  Start typing in the word you would like to search, and the program jumps to that word.  You can find out how many times each word is used to determine your best search strategy.  To select a word in the Word Wheel, click on the word to highlight and click on the "OK" button to finalize your selection.  This will return you to the search box.

To initiate the search, use the mouse to select the Search button or press <Return>.

VIEWING RESULTS

There are two ways to view results: first, you can use the mouse to select any particular title in your result list, or you can use one of the command buttons at the top of the screen.  The second and third sets of buttons are particularly useful here.  The second set allows you to select the first, previous, next, or last document, while the third set of buttons refer to the first, previous, next, or last search hit.

Each time you view an article and return to the list of results, you will see that every article that you have already viewed will be shaded in a different color on the screen.


DOWNLOADING

Using the mouse, pull down the "File" menu at the top of the screen and select "Save as."  The program will prompt you for a path and filename.  Please download to the A: drive (3.5" diskette) or the B: drive (5.25" floppy).

PRINTING

The command buttons at the top of the screen include an icon for printing.  Click on this button with the mouse, and the article should print to the attached printer.  You can also print by using the top pull-down menu under "File" and selecting "Print" here.

Please notice that the printer attached to the workstation may be hooked to a switcher box.  If you intend to print, be sure the switcher is set to print from your station.

REFINING SEARCHES

Use the following approaches to refine your search if the results are too large or too small.  Please note that there is currently no way to refine a previous search; you must begin a new search.  However, you can see the terms used in a previous search at the bottom of the search box.

Broadening

	To use the Boolean operator OR, type more than one word or term in the general word search field.

Narrowing

	As mentioned before, the AND and BUT NOT Boolean terms are included as separate boxes in the initial search box.  To use either one, select the box with the mouse and type in the word you would like to use in the search.

	You can limit the number of articles retrieved in a search by resetting the "Search Options" (under the "Search" menu at the top of the screen) to the number you wish to use.

COMMANDS: EXITING, STARTING A NEW SEARCH, ETC.

- To exit, pull down the "File" menu from the top of the screen and select "Exit" or click the Exit button on the command button line.

- To start a new search, pull down the "Search" menu from the top of the screen and select "New Search."  If you are in a list from a previous search, you can also click on the New button (second from the left) on the command button line.

HELP?

Click on the Help button on the command button line at any time.



J. McMullen/B.Bell, The College of Wooster, 7/28/97