Catholic Periodical and Literature Index Instructions

Introduction

Catholic Periodical and Literature Index (CPLI) includes citations to articles published in Roman Catholic periodicals, as well as to papal documents, church promulgations, and books about the Catholic faith, authored by Catholics, or produced by Catholic publishers. Coverage begins in 1981.

Searching

The database opens on to the Advanced Search screen, which allows you to perform both single term searches and combined term searches.

• Single Term Search: For a single term search, simply type your search term into one of the search boxes. For a keyword search of all the possible fields, leave the dropdown box to the right of the search term box as "Select a Field (optional)." If you want specify your search for a specific field (for example, you only want to search in the "Author" field) use the dropdown box to the right of the search term box to select the field you want to search. When you are ready to search, select the Search button.   See example.

  Single Term Search

  If you wanted to do a general keyword search on the term "trinity", you would proceed as follows:

  1. Type trinity in the first search box.
  2. Leave the dropdown option as "Select a Field (optional)."
  3. Select the "Search" button.

  Close

• Combined Term Search: For a combined term search, fill in more than one search term box with the terms you want to combine, use the dropdown box next to each term box to select the field to search for each term, and combine your search terms using the Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) that connect each line of search boxes.   See example.

  Combined Term Search

  If you wanted to find works by author Bernard McGinn on the topic of women and mysticism, you would proceed as follows:

  1. Type in mcginn in the first search box and select "AU Author" from the dropdown list.
  2. Use the Boolean operator AND to combine with the second search term.
  3. Type in mysticism in the second search box and select "SU Subjects" from the dropdown list.
  4. Select the "Search" button.

  If you wanted to find works on either process theology or process philosophy, you would proceed as follows:

  1. Type in process theology in the first search box and select "SU Subjects" from the dropdown list.
  2. Use the Boolean operator OR to combine with the second search term.
  3. Type in process philosophy in the second search box and select "SU Subjects" from the dropdown list.
  4. Select the "Search" button.

  Close

• The Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) work as follows:
  • AND searching means that terms on either side of the AND must both be in the record for it to be retrieved. Using AND narrows your search.
  • OR searching means that at least one or more of the selected terms on either side of the OR must be in the record, but all the terms don't have to be, for a record to be retrieved. Using OR broadens your search.
  • NOT searching means that the selected term after the NOT must not be in the record; if the term is in the record, the record will not be retrieved.

Refining Your Search

Directly underneath the search boxes are options to further refine your search. (After you're run a search, you need to click the "Advanced Search" link below the search boxes to display these options.)

• Search modes: learn more
• Apply related words: expands your search to include synonyms and plurals for your search terms
• Linked Full Text: limit your results to only articles for which the full text of the article is available through CPLI
• Publication Type: specify the type of publication you want to search for (e.g., Article, Book Review, etc.)
• Publication Name: limit your results to a specific publication
• Published Date From: limit your results by year
• Language: limit your results by language
• Image Quick View and Image Quick View Types: limit your results by the presence and type of images in the items

Search Results

Search results in CPLI appear and can be interpreted in the same way as results in the ATLA Religion Database. See the Search Results in ATLA Religion Database page for more details.

Using Indexes

Using the Indexes is a very helpful way to select the correct terms for your search, especially when you are searching on a topic or an author. The database allows you to browse through the indexes for nearly all the fields. The link to Indexes is on the blue bar at the top of the each page in CPLI.

Once you select this link, you will be taken to the Indexes page where you need to select the appropriate index to browse from the Browse an Index dropdown. Then type in the beginning letters of what you think is the appropriate search term in the Browse for box and select the Browse button.

You will be taken to a page with an alphabetical list beginning with your browse term (or the term closest to it, if your term does not match the terms in the particular index). Select the check box next to all terms that correspond to your search. Note that for some author names there may be varying spellings; likewise, there may be more than one subject term related to your topic. Make sure you click to select all the possible spellings or terms for your search. You can move throughout the index by using the Previous | Next links located near the top of each page.

Once you have selected all your desired index terms, select the "Add" button. This will place your selected terms in the Find box, separated by "or" (meaning that if any of the selected terms are in a record, it will be retrieved, but not all the terms have to be in the record). Select "Search" to execute your search.

There is also a separate Scriptures index linked from the blue bar at the top of each page in CPLI.

Search History in ATLA Religion Database

The search history in CPLI works the same as that in the ATLA Religion Database. See the Search History in ATLA Religion Database page for more details.

Working with Results

Printing, e-mailing, saving, exporting, and saving work for use in future sessions works the same in CPLI as in the ATLA Religion Database. See the Working with Results in ATLA Religion Database page for more details.

Setting Up Alerts

Setting up alerts in CPLI works the same as in the ATLA Religion Database. See the Setting Up Alerts in ATLA Religion Database page for more details.

Creating an EBSCOhost Account

Creating an EBSCOhost Account in CPLI works the same as in the ATLA Religion Database. See the Creating an EBSCOhost Account in ATLA Religion Database page for more details.

 

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