Turfgrass Information Center >> The Database >> Searching TGIF>> Guided Search

Guided Search

The Turfgrass Information File (TGIF) Guided Search is designed to walk users through more refined searches, including use of Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) as well as limiting search results by a number of characteristics. For less complex search needs, please try Basic Search. For even more complex searching by experienced TGIF searchers, please try Power Search.

For Guided Search, in the first "Search for" box, type the most important word or phrase. To locate this word or phrase anywhere in the TGIF record, leave the "as a" drop-down list set to "Anywhere". However, if the word or phrase is a type listed in the drop-down list (Keyword, Author, Cultivar, etc.) and you only want results returned that apply to the word or phrase as that type of information, then choose the appropriate one.

Additionally, if you are unsure what search term you wish to use, it is possible to o browse selected indices by clicking "Browse index". From there, select the index you wish to browse, then page through (or use the "list near" tool to jump to a certain area) and mark the terms you wish to search.

When done marking terms, choose Paste to return them into the Guided Search screen. Be sure to change the "as a" drop-down list to the same as the index the marked terms came from or else TGIF will search for those items anywhere in the record!

The three "Search for" boxes can be tied together using the Boolean operators AND, OR, or NOT by selecting the appropriate one from the drop-down lists.

By default, Guided Search will search for all publication types, all years, all sectors, and all kinds of items. To limit by any of these, choose the appropriate item from the drop-down lists.

Publication type: what level of publication it is or what the intended audience is, for example, a Refereed journal or a Trade or Popular magazine.

Year: what time frame the article was published

Sector: what area of the turf industry the article applies to

Kinds of items: what is the type of material, for example, a video clip, an editorial, or poetry

There are also two special limiting boxes: "USGA® Publications" and "Full-text Content". To see only those items published by the USGA, check mark the first box. To see only those items with full-text content available, either through the loading of the full text into the TGIF record or via a link to the World Wide Web, check mark the second box.

The maximum records retrieved can be set to the desired amount by choosing the value from the drop-down list.