Ovid Tips
Searching on Multiple Databases Using Ovid

Ovid's Multifile feature allows you to search multiple databases as if they were one database. Ovid's De-duping feature removes duplicate citations from the multiple databases.

From Ovid’s Choose a Database page:

  • Click the Select More Than One Database Search tab to access the database list.
  • Mark the checkboxes you want to include in your multiple database search.
  • You can select up to five databases.
  • Click on the Click to begin search bar located to the left.

Searching a Multifile Database
At the beginning of a Multifile database search, the Main Search Page resembles Ovid's standard Main Search Page; the names of the databases you have chosen will display at the top. Their listing indicates the order that the databases are searched and displayed. The limits that are common to all the selected databases appear below the search box.

Note: Mapping is not available in Multifile searches at this time.

Author and Journal Searching
When you click on the Author or Journal icon at the top of the Main Search Page of your Multifile database, the indices of all the databases of the Multifile session are combined. This allows you to make your selections from all index entries from all of the included databases. To improve your results, select all entries that might be relevant to your search. When you return to the Main Search Page, you can view which database the citation results came from by clicking on Details in the search box.

Search Field Searching
When you click the Search Fields icon at the top of the Main Search Page of your Multifile database, you access the Search Fields/Indexes page. All available fields from your chosen databases are displayed. Enter your word or phrase and click on the fields you want to search. Enter your word or phrase and click on the fields you want to search. To get more information about a particular field, click the “i” information icon.

Applying Limits
When you click the Limit icon at the top of the Main Search Page of your Multifile database, you access the Limit a Search page. All the available limits are offered from each of your chosen databases. To learn more about a particular limit, click the “i” information icon. Once you have chosen limits and run your search, Ovid indicates (in the Search History window on the Main Search Page) any databases for which the limit was invalid and what action was taken with the results from those databases.

Using Tools
When you click the Tools icon at the top of the Main Search Page of a Multifile database, you access a display showing the tools from all of the databases of your Multifile session. When a tool is available in more than one database, an interim page appears requiring that you choose a database for the tool. You can only view a tool for one database at a time. In order to view the tool for a different database, click on Choose Database at the top of the page, and select a new database.

Deduping
When you enter a search in a Multifile session, a Search History window appears. To remove duplicates from your results set, click the Remove Duplicates button (located to the right, beneath the Search History window). A Remove Duplicates Screen appears from which you can select a set for deduping.

The Citation Manager
As with a single-database search, the output from your Multifile search is managed using Ovid's Citation Manager (located at the bottom of the Main Search Page). If a format is not available in all of the databases of your Multifile search, it does not display in the Citation Manager. When you choose the Select Fields option from the Fields selection box, the fields from all the databases of your Multifile session are included. Select the field(s) most useful to your search, and Ovid will apply them across each of the databases.

Detailed information on Ovid multifile searching

Search Ovid at http://Library.NationalJewish.org/Databases/Ovid.html