This hands-on course teaches you to get the most from FRELIP’s discovery search — basic and advanced searching, narrowing with facets, reaching full text, and saving searches so new research comes to you.

It turns one simple search box into a precise, powerful research tool you can use every day.

What you’ll be able to do

By the end of this course you will be able to:

• run effective basic searches;
• use advanced search for precision;
• narrow results quickly with facets;
• reach the full text of what you find;
• save searches and set up alerts;

The lessons

1. Basic Search Techniques — strong keywords and iterative searching.
2. Advanced Search Features — field searching and combining terms.
3. Search Filters & Facets — narrowing results with a click.
4. Accessing Full Text — getting from a result to the document, free where possible.
5. Creating Saved Searches — re-running searches and getting alerts.

How to study this course

Work through the lessons in order — each is a short read with a worked example, a quick exercise, and a hand-picked free resource. Use the Previous and Next buttons at the foot of each page to move along. There are no fees and no enrolment barriers; the course is open to everyone, and you can revisit it any time.

This courseware is provided free by FRELIP. Original text released under CC BY 4.0; linked resources remain under their own licences. Curated by the FRELIP Open Courseware editorial team.