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KnowUK User Guide (screen readers and magnifiers) (April 2007)
Index and introduction
- What is KnowUK and what can it help me do?
- Using Search all of KnowUK
- Using Category Searches
- Using Advanced Search
- Using Local Information
- Using Browse All Publications
- Using Life Events
- Using Dictionary and Thesaurus Search
KnowUK is designed to be simple to search and use. Although this guide may look lengthy, it is intended to give new users a complete guide to how the whole of KnowUK works. More familiar users can dip into this guide to find out more about certain features of the site - or use the help pages (help pages can also be accessed by pressing Alt+ l and enter) provided on each page of the site. Have KnowUK open in front of you whilst reading through this guide so that you can work through the examples given.
If you have any questions, please contact us at: knowuk-webmaster@proquest.co.uk.
1. What is KnowUK and what can it help me do?
KnowUK is a collection of well-known and authoritative reference books commonly used by libraries all over the UK, put together in one place on the Internet to make finding information easier. Browse through the complete list of titles available in KnowUK to see the wide variety of information available. KnowUK can help you to find information quickly about the UK and the world to aid work, study and research.
KnowUK can be used to answer all of these questions:
- What is the population of Bolivia?
- Which universities have courses in Modern History?
- Who is my local MP?
- Where is Jonathan Swift's grave?
- Is chiropractic a suitable treatment for a bad back?
- Which organisations help people with dyslexia?
- Which local care homes are suitable for my father?
- Can I get extra grants to help me with the cost of studying?
- When and what was the Glorious Revolution?
- What is the law on writer's copyright in the UK?
- What is the average infant mortality rate for Africa?
- Can you recommend some hotels in Edinburgh?
- What are the rules for buying property in Scotland?
- Who is the Officer for E-government for Anglesey Council?
- What events are on in Nottingham next month?
- What is the current National Minimum Wage rate?
- Are there any archives that have information on railways?
- What is David Blunkett's address?
All the information within KnowUK is updated regularly and comes from recognised sources of information, so unlike a general internet search, KnowUK will only give you a small amount of relevant information, instead of thousands of potentially misleading results. KnowUK is not a search engine like Google and so will not just recommend other websites, it will take you straight to the information that you need.
So how do you get started with KnowUK?
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2. Using Search all of KnowUK
This is the easiest way of using KnowUK and we recommend that you use this search for the majority of the time. It searches across every piece of information on the site and returns the most relevant results back to you. It's very simple, have a go at the examples below to get started and then read through our search tips to become an expert!
Example Search One - When and what was the 'Glorious Revolution'?
- Type Glorious Revolution in the search box on the home page (or in the top left of the blue bar on other pages) and click the blue Search button.
- The List of Results page shows that KnowUK has over 50 records that include both of your search terms Glorious and Revolution. The results are ranked by relevancy - that means that the most appropriate records to answer your question will be at the top of the list. The Summary in each result shows you that your search words are contained in the record - they will be highlighted in red. If you wish you can use the alphabetical option to put your results into alphabetical order and you can also change the number of records that you can see on this page from the default of 25 to 50.
- Click on the first result from the Hutchinson Encyclopedia of Britain on the Glorious Revolution to read more about this historical event.
- The words you searched on are highlighted in red.
- You can use the Email this record option to email this information to yourself or others - there's no need to have any email software such as Outlook running on your machine, as the emails are sent from within KnowUK.
- You can use the Print this record option to print out this information, to include, for example, in a student's portfolio of work. This option removes all the KnowUK navigation from this page.
- You can use the Open the contents at this record option to go to the table of contents for this publication - in this case, the Hutchinson Encyclopedia. The screen reader will start reading the title of the record you have just been looking at. To find out more about browsing publications in KnowUK, please go to the Using Browse all Publications section of this guide.
Example Search Two - I am planning to visit Northumberland and want to find some information about Bamburg castle
- Type Bamburg castle in the search box on the home page (or in the top left of the blue bar on other pages) and click the blue Search button.
- This search finds 0 results. The KnowUK spellchecker suggests searching for Bamburgh instead. The spellchecker only appears when it finds alternative spellings for words you have searched for. It will always suggest 3 alternative spellings. Click on the spelling you require to highlight it, in this case Bamburgh, and then click on the blue Search button.
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The List of Results page shows that KnowUK has over 30 records that include information on Bamburgh Castle. The results are ranked by relevancy, so the most appropriate records for your query will be at the top of the list.
- If you wish you can use the subject categories at the left-hand side of the page to narrow down your search further. Next to each category it shows you how many results there are for that category. In this case, the best category to choose will be Tourism and Leisure. Click on the heading to see the Tourism and Leisure List of Results page.
- Click on the first entry for information about the castle. If you want to go back to the main List of Results page, use the Go back to the List of Results link and then the Back to full List of Results link or click on the other category headings to go to other category lists of results.
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Search Tips
- Just enter the most important words for your search in the box - e.g. for the question What is the address of the Scottish Parliament you only need to enter Scottish Parliament.
- The search does not recognise common words such as a, it, and, to, how, if, is, are etc so there is no need to include them when you're searching.
- Search all of KnowUK will automatically find plurals of all words so, for example, searching on party will also find information on parties.
- Search all of KnowUK will also find different forms of the same word so, for example, searching for browse will also find browser, browsers, browsing, browsed etc.
- Search all of KnowUK is not case sensitive so searching for Welsh Assembly, WELSH ASSEMBLY or welsh assembly will all return exactly the same results..
- Do a phrase search using quotation marks in the Search All of KnowUK box to cut down on the number of search results and to ensure that you get very specific results. For example, typing "Glorious Revolution" will find fewer results than Glorious Revolution.
- If you would like to find words that can sometimes have an apostrophe and sometimes not e.g. womens and women's, search using truncation - entering women* in the search box will find both.
- Don't worry about your spelling - KnowUK will check it for you and offer you three alternatives.
- Use the categories in the blue bar on the left of the List of Results page to narrow down very large numbers of search results by subject.
If you see this at the top of your Search All results it means that your library also subscribes to NewsUK, a database of over 50 national and local UK newspapers. Clicking on this link will automatically search for newspaper articles using the same search words across the NewsUK archive which stretches back to 1992. BACK TO TOP OF PAGE
3. Using Category Searches
Use the 15 category searches on the left of the KnowUK home page if you have a subject-specific question. The categories in KnowUK cover the main areas of information contained in the site:
- Arts and Media
- Biography
- Courses and Careers
- Education
- Events
- General Knowledge
- Government and Armed Services
- Grants and Funding
- Health and Welfare
- Law
- Libraries, Museums and Archives
- Organisations, Associations and Charities
- Personal Finance
- Religion
- Tourism and Leisure
These searches work the same way as Search all of KnowUK with the exception of two specialised searches for the Events category and the Courses and Careers category. The main difference is that you can select individual publications to search. Work through the examples below to familiarise yourself with each type of category search.
Example Search One - Which organisations help people with Dyslexia?
- This is a perfect Organisations, Associations and Charities category search. Using Search all of KnowUK to search for information on dyslexia will find many irrelevant results such as schools that have provision for dyslexia, for example.
- Click on the Organisations, Associations and Charities link in the blue bar on the home page.
- You can see from the list of titles that all are relevant to this question. If you're not sure which publications are relevant you can use the About this publication link next to each title to find out more.
- Enter dyslexia into the search box and then click the blue Search button. In this case, as you wish to search through all publications in this category, there's no need to select any publications from the list, as KnowUK will automatically search the entire category.
- This search returns over 50 results, which include national and local organisations that can help people with dyslexia.
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Example Search Two - What art exhibitions are going to be on in London this summer?
- For this query, you need to use the Events category search, which enables you to find future events in the UK by location, keyword and event type. It covers local events that have a national profile such as Glastonbury, the Notting Hill Carnival and the Last Night of the Proms. Many types of event are covered such as major trade shows, awards, exhibitions, gigs etc.
- Click on the Events category link in the blue bar on the KnowUK home page.
- Enter exhibition in the keyword box and then London in the Location box. Select the appropriate dates in the From and To box (June to August). You might need to change the year, depending on when you are trying this search. You don't need to specify the days unless there is a particular date you are interested in - you can leave it saying 'Any' to search for events throughout the months you have chosen. Check the box for 'Arts & Showbiz' in Event type. Then press the blue Search button.
- Results are listed in date (reverse chronological) order. Click on the heading for the first result. Each entry gives brief details of the event, dates and a web site address so you can find out more.
- Events information is updated four times a year in KnowUK - so keep checking for more details and more events nearer the time.
Example Search Three - Where can I go to study for an HNC in Tourism Management?
- For this question, use the Courses and Careers search, which enables you to find very specific course information from our database of over 120,000 Further and Higher Education courses. You can search by keyword, course subject, course level, institution and location, enabling you to pinpoint the right course for you.
- Click on the Courses and Careers link in the blue bar on the KnowUK home page.
- Enter Tourism Management in the subject search box and select the checkbox next to Higher National Certificate in the Level section. Click on a blue Search button.
- The results show more than 20 courses available in Tourism Management. You could also have entered a location or institution in the search box, for example, Swansea, if searching for courses in a particular place.
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Search Tips
- Category searches work in much the same way as Search all of KnowUK so read through the relevant Search Tips again. There are a couple of differences:
- If you don't select any publications using the checkboxes in the category searches, KnowUK will automatically search every publication in that category.
- The more search terms/options you choose in the Events and Courses and Careers searches, the fewer results you will get. It is often best to start off with a broader search using fewer search terms/options and then use the Search again? option to narrow down your search as required.
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4. Using Advanced Search
Use Advanced Search if you have a very specific query and want to take advantage of our Advanced Search Options. It also enables you to select individual publications and to search for information within them, just as you would select publications off the shelf to answer a particular query. The Advanced Search Options underneath the search box are:
- All of these terms: e.g. on a search for Scottish parliament choosing this option will only find records that have both words Scottish and parliament in them. This is the default search for the advanced search (and other KnowUK searches), so if you do not select a different option, KnowUK will automatically use this search.
- Any of these terms: e.g. on a search for Scottish parliament choosing this option will find records that have both Scottish and parliament in them and records that only have either Scottish or parliament in them. Choosing this search option will usually mean a larger number of results.
- Exact phrase: e.g. on a search for Scottish parliament choosing this option will only find records that have the words Scottish parliament directly next to each other. Choosing this search option will usually mean a smaller number of results.
Example Search - I want to find the addresses for all Members of the Welsh Assembly who have been involved in environment, planning and transport. I want to write to them protesting about a bypass that will destroy countryside near my home in Wales.
- Click on the Advanced Search link on the KnowUK home page or at the top right of every page.
- Type environment planning and transport in the Search box and then choose the Exact phrase option underneath by clicking on the radio button.
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Either scroll down through the alphabetical list of publications or select the W from the alphabet at the top to find Welsh Assembly Biographies. Select it by clicking on the checkbox next to the title.
- Click one of the blue Search buttons on the page.
- The search results only features results from Welsh Assembly Biographies as selected. Each Member of the Assembly shown has the phrase environment planning and transport in their biography as highlighted in red and all the individual biographies contain contact details.
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Search Tips
- Don't worry about your spelling - KnowUK will check it for you and offer you three alternatives.
- Using Boolean terms in the Advanced Search box, such as Scottish AND Parliament, Scottish + Parliament, Scottish OR Parliament or "Scottish Parliament" will not work - you must use the search options underneath the search box.
- Advanced Search does not recognise common words such as a, it, and, to, how, if, is, are etc so there is no need to include them when you're searching. (In the environment planning and transport search above, you could have just entered environment planning transport).
- Advanced Search will automatically find plurals of all words so, for example, searching on party will also find information on parties.
- Advanced Search is not case sensitive so searching for Welsh Assembly, WELSH ASSEMBLY or welsh assembly will all return exactly the same results.
- Advanced Search will also find different forms of the same word so, for example, searching for browse will also find browser, browsers, browsing, browsed - unless you use the Exact Phrase option.
- If you would like to find words that can sometimes have an apostrophe and sometimes not e.g. womens and women's, search using truncation - entering women* in the search box will find both.
- If you do not select any publications using the checkboxes, Advanced Search will automatically search across all publications in KnowUK.
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5. Using Local Information
Use the Local Information area of KnowUK to access a wealth of information about the places of the UK and to find services and facilities by location.
Example Search One - I'm going to meet friends in Bradford. Do you know where I can get details of bus timetables and somewhere to eat? (Local Information Pages)
- This is an ideal opportunity to use the Local Information pages, which cover over 1,200 places in the UK. Each place has a page devoted to it, with a map, gazetteer description, images and a directory of local web links to other KnowUK pages and to editorially selected external websites covering:
- Business
- Employment and careers
- Local press and media
- Leisure and tourism
- Local history
- Politics
- Social services
- Transport
- Weather
- Click on the Local Information page link on the KnowUK home page.
- Click on Yorkshire and Humberside on the map or choose that region from the list on the right-hand side of the map.
- Select Bradford from the list of places.
- On the Bradford Local information Page select Local links from the list at the top (or scroll down).
- Select Transport from the list of link categories (or scroll down).
- Under Buses there's a link to First in Bradford Home that will take you to bus timetables for Bradford. This link opens in a new window which you can close after you have finished looking at the site, without closing the Bradford Local Information page.
- As Bradford is well known for curries, we have included a link to the Bradford Curry Guide in the Leisure and tourism category, which recommends several places to eat.
Example Search two - I want to find all libraries in Dundee (Find My Local)
- This is an ideal Find My Local search, as you want to find services/facilities by location rather than by name. The following services and facilities can be found by using this search:
- Further Education Institutions
- GPs
- Housing for the elderly
- Libraries
- MEPs
- MPs
- NHS hospitals
- Schools
- You can search by full postcode (e.g. CB4 3XH), part postcode (e.g. CB4) or just by place name e.g. Cambridge. Searching on a full postcode will give you search results based on distance away from the postcode you have searched upon; searching by part postcode or town name will return results in alphabetical order as these are less precise searches.
- Select Libraries from the drop down list of facilities on the local information page. Type Dundee in the My postcode/town box.
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Click the blue Search button.
- The list of results shows all libraries in Dundee in alphabetical order. Click on the first entry for Arthurstone Library from the Libraries Directory to view the full details. Details are given of the library and a location map. Each map appears at the maximum possible level of detail. Click on the minus button on the right-hand side of the map to zoom out to see the surrounding area and use the plus button to get back to the larger scale map.
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6. Using Browse All Publications
This area of the site enables you to browse through each publication in KnowUK, as if you were reading the actual book. We've replicated the actual content structure of each book, so if you are used to using the print copy you will find this feature very easy to use. It's also useful if you want to read through something in more depth, rather than just search for a piece of information.
Example Browse - I'm thinking of joining the pension scheme at my workplace. Where can I find out more about the pros and cons of doing this?
- In KnowUK we have a whole title that is relevant to this query - the Pension Handbook. You may want to read the whole guide or just the chapter that relates to Pensions through your job.
- To start reading this book online, click on the Browse All Publications link on the home page or on the top right of each page. This takes you through to an alphabetical list of all publications in KnowUK. You can also find publications via the subject categories in the blue bar.
- Either scroll through the list or select the P in the alphabet at the top of the page.
- Click on the Browse Contents link next to the Pension Handbook. If you're not sure that this is the publication which will contain the information you need, click on the About this publication link to find out more.
- The link will open into the Table of Contents page that lists the main chapter headings for this book. We have used various symbols to help you to read through our books online;
- If a chapter heading is hyperlinked (blue and underlined) like Introduction for example, it means that selecting it will take you through directly to the information in that chapter.
- If the chapter heading has a [+] symbol before it like [+] Part 2: Pensions through your job, it means that there are further subheadings to select from before getting through to the information.
- Once a chapter heading has been selected upon a minus symbol will appear before it, e.g. [-] Part 2: Pensions through your job. If you select this minus symbol the chapter will close up again, and the subheadings will no longer be available on the screen.
- To read through the chapter on Pensions through your job select the plus symbol before [+] Part 2: Pensions through your job.
- You will now be able to see the subheadings that make up this chapter of the book. Then select the + symbol before the first subheading [+] A pension through your job. This has further subheadings.
- Then select the first subheading A pension through your job. This will take you through to the text of this chapter.
- Once you've read through the information on this page, you can use View next record and View previous record to read through this Which? Guide without having to go back to the Table of Contents page. Use the Go Back link to go back to the Table of Contents page to go to another chapter of the book. You can also print or email each individual record.
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7. Using Life Events
Use Life Events to get further information and advice on the issues and problems in your life. Life Events Topic Guides provide information on the main issues, with links to further reading within KnowUK and in external websites. There are over 100 Life Events in KnowUK.
Life Events are divided into the following categories:
- Birth and Childhood
- Buying and Selling Property
- Education
- Living Together
- Marriage and Civil Partnerships
- Pensions
- Renting Property
- Retirement
- What To Do When Someone Dies
- Work
Example Search - My daughter is 3 and will be going to school next year. How do I find out more information about choosing the right primary school for her?
- Click on the Life Events link on the home page or on the top right of the page.
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Click on the Education category
- Click on Choosing a School for your Child to read more about the issues involved in this.
- Alternatively, you could find this Life Event through entering choosing primary school in the search all of KnowUK box.
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8. Using Dictionary and Thesaurus Search
Whether you are trying to solve a difficult crossword clue or just want to know what a word means, the KnowUK Dictionary and Thesaurus Search allows you to look up words in the complete Chambers Dictionary and in the Chambers Thesaurus.
Example search: I'm writing a report on integration and want to find some other ways of saying 'integrate'.
- Click on the Dictionary and Thesaurus link on the homepage or on the top right of the page.
- Enter the word 'integrate' in the Keyword searchbox. Select The Chambers Thesaurus as the publication.
- Search tip: you can use the Headword searchbox to look up a specific word as if you were using a printed dictionary. Using the Keyword instead will find all the entries which contain that word, but these are sorted in relevance order so the entry for the word itself will usually be at the top.
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