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Gecko is Curtin University's gateway to a wide range of information resources. It allows you to simultaneously search multiple databases and library catalogues. You can also create a personalised list of resources and electronic journals in My Space to use every time you login to Gecko.
This guide covers the steps of getting started and searching with Gecko, working with your search results and finding journal articles through Find It.
Gecko can be accessed from any computer terminal with Internet access. Simply follow the link from the Curtin Library and Information Service Web Page. Use your Curtin ID and Password to log in. Full access is limited to Curtin University staff and students only.
You may prefer to print this tutorial so that you can refer to a printed copy while you are working online. It is about 10 pages long.
To access Gecko click on the Gecko link on the Curtin Library and Information Homepage. Curtin University staff and students can log into Gecko with their Curtin ID and Password.
The first page you see when you login is the Find Database page. There are a number of functions and features within Gecko that you will need to become familiar with so that you can search Gecko effectively.
Try this:
The Gecko toolbar is located at the very top of the screen - you will see your name on the right hand side of the screen! The toolbar tells you where you are within Gecko by highlighting your location in blue.
Options in the toolbar are:
Find Database - enables you to locate a specific database within Gecko using either the categories or sub-categories or a search by title.
Find e-Journal - enables you to locate specific e-journals within Gecko.
Metasearch - allows you to search multiple resources at the same time.
Help - explanations and hints about the screen you are in at that time.
Exit - to end your Gecko session.
My Space - your personal area within Gecko which contains: e-Shelf, My Databases, My e-Journals, History and Preferences.
eShelf - a list of articles you have saved.
My Databases - a list of your favourite databases.
My e-Journals - a list of your favourite e-journals.
History - a list of your previous searches which have been permanently saved.
Preferences - allows you to change the display of items in Gecko and choose the number of results shown per page.
There are two ways to identify resources to search: 1. By Category and 2. By Title.
1. Using the Category option:You will automatically be taken to the Category screen when you first log in to Gecko. Otherwise click on Find Database and the category option will be highlighted.
The left side of the window shows the categories of databases available. These include a category for each division (Business, Humanities, Health Sciences, Engineering, science & computing and Resources & Environment), Full Text databases, Library Catalogues, Reference Resources and Multidisciplinary. The Multidisciplinary category includes resources that cover all subjects.
Subcategories include the major databases for each school (i.e. Psychology).
Complete List for the Division (i.e. Health Sciences) is a list of all the databases relevant to that division.
General subcategory includes the multidisciplinary databases and general resources for the division.
Click on a category to display a list of subcategories for that category. For example some subcategories for Business are Marketing, Management and Accounting. The number of databases in each sub-category is shown next to it in brackets.
Click on a subcategory to select it or select Complete List and click Go. A list of databases will be displayed.
2. Using the Title option:Click on the Title tab.
If you know the name of a specific resource you wish to find type in the name in the box provided. You can specify that the database title starts with, contains or is an exact match for the term you enter.
You can also click on a letter in the alphabet to see a list of all the databases starting with this letter.
One of the useful things about Gecko is that you can create a personalised list of resources that you can use each time you log-in to Gecko.
Adding a Database to your resource list:Use Find Database to find a resource which is useful for you.
Click on the plus icon 
in the Actions column - this will change to the 
icon to show it has been added to your list.
Repeat these steps to add more resources to your list.
To view My Databases click on My Space on the top of the screen and then My Databases. You can add or delete resources from your list at any time. To delete resources click 
next to the name of the resource.
There are two ways to search resources: 1. Direct searching and 2. Metasearch (simultaneous searching) .
Not all resources can be searched simultaneously and some can only be searched using the direct method.
You can search a resource directly in Gecko. For advanced searching and in-depth research in databases/catalogues, we recommend that you use direct searching.
To access a database directly:From the Find Database screen choose a category and sub-category and click Go. A list of resources will be displayed.
From the menu, select the database you want to search and click on the database name.
A new window will open and you can now search the resource directly using the database's own interface.
Close this window to return to the Gecko search screen.
One of the useful things about Gecko is that you can use it to search more than one resource at a time.
Both Basic and Advanced search options are available and there are a number of searching features that you should know about before you use Gecko to search.
In the Advanced search option Gecko allows you to limit your search to specific "fields", such as author or title. Use the Search in fields drop down menu to select the options, All fields (keywords), Subject, Title, Author, ISSN, ISBN, or Year.
Gecko uses Boolean logic, which is a simple set of rules used to combine search terms and develop precise search queries. The words AND, OR and WITHOUT have special meanings, and provide instructions that Gecko can understand.
Use the word AND to search for references containing all of the search terms. For example: gold and mining will locate references containing both keywords.
Use the word OR if you want to search for references containing one term or the other. For example: gold or silver will find references containing either keyword.
Use the word WITHOUT if you want to search for references not containing a certain term. For example mining without silver will find references with mining, but without silver.
The more search terms used, the more specific, and fewer, the results. To broaden your results use words with similar meanings connected by OR. For example you could use mining or metal or mineral to expand your search results.
You can use a combination of Boolean operators in one search. For example, (gold OR silver) AND mining
If you do not use Boolean Operators between your search terms, Gecko will search for the terms as a phrase. For example, if you type in gold and silver as your search terms, it will search for references that contain both words. If you search for gold silver Gecko will return results with the phrase "gold silver".
You can truncate a search term with a question mark (?) to find several forms of one term. For example, Australia? will search for Australia, Australian, Australia's. Educat? will search for educate, educates, educating, education.
The standard for authors' names is last name first: Jones, Doris rather than Doris Jones. Sometimes authors may publish under different names. For example Jones, Doris or Jones, D. If you are searching more than one resource, include all versions of an author's name in your search.
It may be difficult to tell the order in which each resource describes a subject. For example, gold mining or mining gold. In this case searching for gold and mining in the subject field will retrieve the most results.
If you need more help with searching have a InfoTrekk Trek 6: Finding Journal Articles .
We will now practice searching three databases simultaneously.This search will be used in the exercises for the remaining steps.
Select Metasearch from the main toolbar.
Select Categories from the Select Search Type drop down menu. Choose Science and Engineering as your category and Complete List for Science and Engineering as the sub-category.
Click on the Advanced search tab
Scroll down the list of databases and click in the boxes of Environmental Science and Pollution Management, GEOBASE and GeoRef
Leave the Search in fields box as All Fields (this will perform a keyword search).
In the first search box, type gold or silver.
Leave the selected Boolean operator as AND.
In the second search box, type mining.
Click on Go.
Gecko will start to search the three databases simultaneously. The screen will refresh/reload several times and the the word Searching will appear in the Search Status column.
The Metasearch results screen will display a combined results list. To view the number of results from each of the databases searched (i.e. Environmental Science and Pollution Management, GEOBASE and GeoRef), click on the link view results by databases.
Hints for searching in Gecko:
Gecko is not case-sensitive - it does not matter if you do not capitalise particular words.
Do not put search terms in quotation marks.
Avoid punctuation.
Avoid using words such as "the" "a" "an" "and" "or" in your search terms.
Not all resources support searching by year. If you receive an error message, try searching for the year in all fields.
If you are not happy with your search results you can refine your search by clicking on Refine in the menu toolbar at the top to the screen.
Using the results from your previous search try this:Click on Refine.
A new Refine screen will open up. You can select AND in order to narrow down your search and then from the Field to search drop-down menu select Title. In the Type word or phrase box, type the term "Australia".
Click on Go.
The Metasearch results screen will now show the results of the refined search.
Your search results list is automatically displayed in the brief view however you can choose to look at your results in the full view by clicking on the Full view link at the top of the results list.
From the Metasearch Page:To view your results click on Metasearch results. The results (or citations) of your search appear in a list (in brief form) in sets of 10.
Click on the Next link at the top of the page to see the next 10 citations.
To display the Full View click on the full view link at the top of the results screen. The Full View contains more details about the reference retrieved and, if available, the abstract and full text.
Records can usually be sorted by author, title or year. This can be done by clicking on one of the headings in the Sort by drop down menu in the top right hand side of the screen. If the heading is underlined, then sorting is possible.
Sorting your results depends on whether the particular resource you are using supports the sort function.
Using Find It in Gecko: In the Metasearch Results List you will see the Find It logo displayed as 
next to each record.
Click on the Find It symbol to access options for this record.
Find It may offer you access to the full text for the requested article in databases such as ScienceDirect or Wiley InterScience. You may also be able to link to the Curtin Library Catalogue to see if we have this item in print or electronic format.
Close the Find It window to return to Gecko.
There are two ways to save and email records: save/email a number of records together, or save/email records individually.
To save/email a number of records: First you will need to add some records to your eShelf. Go back to your Metasearch results list and click on the plus icon next to the record you want to add. The plus icon will change to a shopping trolley icon 
.
Go to My Space and select eShelf.
To select all records, click on Select All. A tick should appear in the box next to all the records.
For the option to save or email (send) your results click on Save/Email Selected at the top of your results list.
Click on Send to email your selected results. (alternatively, click on Save to save your selected results).
In the Recipient's email box type your email address and add a subject line if you wish. (Leave the record format as standard).
Click the Send button.
To save/email individual records:Open the Full View of one record in your results list by clicking on the title of the record.
Click on Save/Email Selected or the the save icon 
and follow the same steps as above.
eShelf is a facility that allows you to store records you have found using Metasearch.
To save records to eShelf
Conduct a search using Metasearch. (Note you cannot save records from a Direct search to eShelf)
Click on the icon to add a record to your eShelf.
To access items stored on eShelf, click on the "My Space" link and then select eShelf. You can view the record, delete it, or move it to a different folder.
You can print your results by using your Internet browser (Internet Explorer/Netscape etc.). Onscreen instructions for printing may be different depending on what browser and what version you are using.
To print in Gecko:Select Print frame from the File menu (in Netscape) OR Select File, then Print (In Internet Explorer).
Follow the onscreen instructions.
You can save your previous searches to your history so they can be re-run in the future.
To save searches to your history:Go to Metasearch and click on Previous searches in the menu toolbar.
Click on icon to add a previous search to your history.
Go to My Space and click on History to view your saved searches. These can be reactivated by clicking on the underlined link in the query column.
You can also set a search that you have saved in your history to run automatically, at an interval of your choice, by setting it up as an alert.
To define an Alert:Click on My Space and select History.
Click on 
next to the search you want to set as an alert.
A new box will appear where you can enter a name for your alert, your email address and define how often you want the alert to run. This can be set to days, weeks or months.
Click on Save.
You can search or browse for electronic journals in Gecko.
To access e-Journals, click on the Find e-Journals link the the top row of the tool bar. You can find journals searching by title if you know the title of a particular journal or click on a letter in the alphabetical list above the search box.
Once you have searched for e-journals you can access the Electronic Journal by clicking on the e-journal title.
Click on the title of the e-journal. A new window will open.
In the new window you will see one or more holdings records for the e-journal. They may include information about availability of the journal. Click on the Find It icon to connect to the e-journal.
You can create a list of e-journals you are interested in by adding e-journals to your My e-Journals list.
Search or browse for the journals you wish to include in your My e-Journals list.
Click on the plus icon to add an e-journal to your list.
Repeat these steps to add more resources to your list.
Click on the link to My e-Journals in the My Space section of Gecko to see your list of e-journals. You can add or delete journals from your list at any time. To delete journals click on My e-Journals and click on next to the name of the journal.
You can click on the Help button on the Gecko toolbar for context-sensitive help.
Have a look at the Gecko FAQ page.
E-mail the Curtin Library and Information Service, or telephone the Enquiries Desk on 9266 7166 during library opening hours.
