Discover @ Georgia Southern is a bit like Google for the library's print and electronic resources. Discover helps you find print books, ebooks, journal articles, videos, and much more from the library catalog, our research databases, and from open access journals. Also, Discover helps you sort and filter your results, and access the full text of the resources you want. For more information about Discover @ Georgia Southern, see here.
Most ebooks available from the library's EBSCO databases can be downloaded and read offline on your computer or mobile device. For instructions, see the library’s FAQ article on downloading ebooks from EBSCO Databases.
See below to jump to a specific help topic:
- How do I perform a basic search?
- How do I perform an advanced search?
- How do I refine my results?
- How do I evaluate my results?
- How do I access the full text of my results?
- How do I suggest additions to the Libraries' Collections using Discover?
How Do I Perform a Basic Search?
You can search Discover directly from the library homepage or from any Discover search box on our Library Guides. To perform a basic keyword search, type your keywords into the search form on the homepage and click Search. This will take you to the results page, which lists all the resources Discover found related to your topic. Once you are on the results page, you may revise your search terms using the search box at the top of the page.
On the homepage search form, Discover is the default search option. Access Advanced Search features from Discover after you submit a search.
If you are off-campus, after you click Search, you may need to click on the yellow "Guest" bar at the top of the results screen and login with your myGS username and password. This will give you full access to all of Discover's resources.
How Do I Perform an Advanced Search?
To access Discover's Advanced Search features, click on Advanced Search under the search field that appears at the top of any Discover results page.
Once on the Advanced Search page, use the available search features to search multiple fields like title and author, and to combine search terms using the Boolean operators AND, OR, and NOT. Also, limit results by date range, resource type, and more.
Many of the search features on the Advanced Search page also appear in the limiter panel on the left-hand side of every Discover results page, which is discussed under "How Do I Refine My Results" below.
How Do I Refine My Results?
The easiest way to refine your results in Discover is to use the limiter panel, which is the vertical menu that appears to the left of your search results on any Discover results page. Use these limiters to filter your results to full-text resources only, scholarly/peer-reviewed resources only, date range, content type, subject, language, database, and more.
*Please note, the limiters you set in your original search may not persist when you change your keywords in the search field at the top of the results page and click "Search." You may need to reset some limiters if you change your search terms.
How Do I Evaluate My Results?
Discover gives you a range of information about the results you find on the results page. Your results appear in the wide column in the center of the results page. Hover your cursor over the magnifying glass icon to the right of any result title, and detailed information will appear in a text bubble, often including an abstract.
For more information, click on the result's title and you will be taken to the detail page for the result. This page includes additional information about the item, which you can use to further evaluate it.
Use the tools in the right-hand column of any item detail page to print, email, save, or cite the result.
How Do I Access the Full Text of My Results?
When you are ready to access the full text of a result you've found, look for the Call Number (i.e., "Call No.") if the item is on the shelf in the library, or click on the "full text" or "Find It" link for the item.
Because Discover includes results for many different databases, full text links can look somewhat different from item to item. Most full text links should appear at the bottom of the item entry on the result page, or they may appear on the left-hand side of the screen or in the item details on the item detail page.
If you are unable to access the item you are looking for, do not hesitate to submit an ILL request using ILLiad or any Find It link in Discover. Find more information on ILL policies and procedures on this page.
Of course, if you are having any technical difficulties using Discover or trouble accessing full text for the items you want, do not hesitate to contact a librarian!
How do I suggest additions to the Libraries' Collections using Discover?
Discover includes many ebooks that are available for preview via the Ebook Central (ProQuest) database. The University Libraries don't currently own these ebooks, but you may suggest the Libraries purchase a title if you think we should add it to our collection. For more information about suggesting these titles for purchase, see this FAQ post.
Friendly URL: https://georgiasouthern.libguides.com/db_21748451
Instructions for creating permalinks (for Folio, syllabuses, etc.)
Additional Resources: EBSCOhost Tutorials / Overview Tutorial / Search Tutorial
Maximum Concurrent Users: Unlimited
For more information, Ask Us!