Instructions for Using CBIR

Searching the Database

Author Searches

To identify materials in CBIR that are written or produced by a specific person, choose "author" and type the person's last name in the box. Be aware that sometimes an organization is identified as the author instead of a specific person. CBIR does not provide any name authority control. The authors are identified in CBIR as they appeared in the original item and it is very possible that there may be different spelling variations of a name. Any known name variations will be identified in square brackets after the name.

Examples of valid author searches include:

• Parnes
• Osborn, Alex F.
• Torrance, E. Paul (not Torrance, Paul)
• VanGundy, Arthur B.
• American Management Association

Note: Some names may contain symbols or non-English language characters. To search for these names, exclude the symbols and use English languge equivalent letters. For example, to search for:

• Karen O'Quin, enter "OQuin, Karen"
• Göran Ekvall, enter "Ekvall, Goran"
• Susan Keller-Mathers, search for "Keller-Mathers, Susan"

Title Searches

To identify materials in CBIR with specific string of words in the title, choose "title" and type either the full title or the first few words in the box. Examples of valid title searches include:

• creative problem solving
• applied imagination
• applied creativity: the creative studies project

Descriptor Searches

CBIR uses a controlled vocabulary of descriptor terms to index all of the records within the database. This list contains broad and narrow terms to define creativity. Choose "descriptors" and type the specific term into the box.

Note: Please note that if you wish to search for a main term and its subordinant term, enter the main term first, followed by a space, the backslash (/), another space, and then the subordinant term. Examples of valid descriptor searches include:

• assessment
• leadership
• Person / Characteristics

Key Word Searches

Sometimes a key concept will only be identified in the annotation of a record. To search for a specificword or string of words within the annotation field, choose "key words" and type it into the box. Examples of valid title searches include:

• Osborn-Parnes Creative Problem Solving
• Stein Technical Audit
• 4 P's

Limiting Search Results

Year of Publication

Searches can be limited by the year things were published. Specifically, one could limit a search to a specific year ("published in"), before a specific year ("published before"), or after a specific year ("published after"). Choose the proper option and type in the four-digit number of the year (yyyy).

General Type of Resource

Searches can be limited to a general type of resource or medium. Specifically, a search could be limited to anything audiovisual, books (which would include chapters from edited collections), doctoral dissetations and masters theses, articles from peer-reviewed journals, popular magazines, and technical reports.

Specific Media

Searches can be limited to a specific type of resource or medium. CBIR searches can identify dissertations, master's theses or projects, audio tapes, and video cassette tapes. For example, a search limited to video cassette tapes will only identify video cassette tapes within CBIR that match the additional search criterial identified above.

Library Collection

Searches can be limited to one of two specific collections of creativity resources- the Creative Studies Library at Buffalo State College (State University of New York), and the special collection of creativity and innovation resources in the Hong Kong City Hall Public Library. This will limit a search to only monographic publications (books, audiovisual materials, theses, technical reports) and will not include periodical publications (journals and magazines). Since CBIR does not pull information from the cataloges of these libraries, users are encouraged to also consult these catalogs for specific holdings, locations, call numbers, and other related materials.

AJD 4/03