Using OARE

Below, users can find basic guidelines on how to access and use scholarly resources available through OARE.

Table of Contents

• Registering in OARE
• Sharing the User name and Password
• Opening your door to “walk-in” users
• Computer and internet requirements
• Logging into OARE
• Opening journals and downloading full-text articles
• Searching for articles using A&I; Databases
• Other resources

Registering in OARE

To access valuable full-text resources and use search engines available in OARE, your institution must register with OARE and receive a User Name and Password.

:: Check eligibility
:: Register your institution

Sharing the User Name and Password

The institutional User Name and Password should be shared with all members of a registered institution. Members of an institution include employees, faculty, researchers, teachers, administrators, staff and students. All members of an institution may use the shared User Name and Password both on their own personal computers at home, and also on any computer owned by or under the control of the registered institution.

Opening Your Doors to “Walk-in” Users

Enrolled institutions can provide “walk-in” users access to OARE. A "walk-in" user is a person that visits a registered institution and requests access to OARE, but is not a member or of the registered institution. The "walk-in" user must use OARE on a personal computer of a member of the institution, or on a computer owned by or under the control of the registered institution.

Computer and Internet requirements

OARE, can be accessed from a PC or Macintosh computer connected to the Internet. Generally, a high speed connection (56k baud rate or higher) is required. A faster connection reduces the time required to use search databases and download full-text articles. The OARE platform can function with Internet Explorer version 4.0 or higher, Netscape version 6.0 or higher, or Mozilla Firefox version 1.0 or higher. Users also need a recent version of Adobe Acrobat Reader to view full-text articles in PDF format. Adobe is not required to view articles that are available in HTML format.

You can download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader for free at: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2_allversions.html

To configure Adobe Acrobat Reader:

1. From the menu bar, click on Edit
2. A drop-down menu will appear with several options.
3. Select Preferences.
4. The preferences window will open with a wide range of categories.
5. In the category listing on the left hand side of the open window, click Internet.
6. A list of internet options will appear.
7. Ensure all of the options listed below are checked:

• Display PDF in Browser
• Allow fast web view
• Allow speculative downloading in the background

Logging into OARE

The shared institutional User Name and Password must be entered in the LOGIN page of the OARE website prior to using search engines and databases and viewing full-text journal articles. If you do not enter the OARE password in the LOGIN page of the website prior to using the portal, you will not be provided access to search engines and databases, and you will not be able to download full-text articles from the large majority of journals. A link to the LOGIN page is provided at the top right hand side of all pages of the OARE website.

How to Log into OARE:

1. Click on the link to the Login page of the OARE website. This link is at the top right hand side of all pages of the OARE website.
2. The OARE Login page will open
3. Enter your User Name and Password into the login boxes, and then click the Login button at the bottom of the page.
4. The Full-text Journals, Databases and Other Resources page of the OARE website will open.
5. You are now successfully logged in as an authenticated OARE user and may access all OARE resources through the links and drop-down menus available on the Full-Text Journals, Databases and Other Resources page of the OARE website.

Opening journals and downloading full-text articles

Once a user has logged into OARE with the institutional user name and password, they may access all OARE resources through the links and drop down menus available on the Full Text Journals, Databases and Other Resources page of the OARE website. OARE provides access to over 75% of the world’s most prestigious and highly cited international scientific journals in the environmental sciences.

If you know the title of the journal you want to access, please follow these directions to open the journal and download a full-text article.

1. Go to the Full-text journals, databases and other resources page.
2. Click on Find Journals by Title.
3. The Find Journals by Title page will open, and you will see an alphabet.
4. Click on the letter that corresponds to the first letter of the title of the journal for which you are searching.
5. A page will open that lists, in alphabetical order, all journal titles in OARE that begin with the letter you have selected.
6. Scroll down to the journal title for which you are searching and click on it.
7. The homepage of the journal that you have selected will open. You are now on the publisher’s website.
8. Click on the corresponding volume number that you would like to open.
9. The website will display a list of all of the issue numbers that are included in the volume that you have selected.
10. Click on the issue number that you would like to open.
11. The website will display a list of all of the articles that are included in the issue number that you have selected.
12. Scroll down to the article that you would like to open and click on the link to the full-text article in PDF format. The link may be written many different ways, including PDF (---K), or Full-text (PDF), or Open document (PDF), etc.).
13. A window will open with the full-text article you have selected in PDF format. Several minutes will pass before the window opens if your Internet connection is slow.
14. Save and print the article by clicking on the corresponding icons on the top left-hand side of the PDF window.

The links and drop down menus available on the Full Text Journals, Databases and Other Resources page of the OARE website can also be used to find journals that publish research in certain subject categories (Click on Find journals by subject category), to find journals that publish articles in a specific language (Click on Find journals by language of publication), and to find the journals of a particular publisher (Click on Find journals by publisher).

Please see the Training page of the OARE website for more detailed instructions on how to open and save full text articles.

Search Engines and A&I; Databases

OARE provides access to major international search engines and databases. Leading scientific and professional communities around the world use these tools to search for articles and information on specific topics in thousands of prestigious scholarly journals, books and scientific papers from around the world. Using these powerful search tools, you can search through most of the publications in OARE, and find the articles that are most relevant to your research, in only minutes. Even more, OARE provides new links in your list of search results that you can use not only to check if you have access to a full-text-article through OARE, but also to open the full-text article directly on the website of the publisher.

To search for articles:

1. Go to the Full-text journals, databases and other resources page and click on SELECT DATABASE/INDEX under Databases and Article searching.
2. A drop down menu with a list of all search databases and indexes available in OARE will open.
3. Select the search database Environment Index or Environmental Science and Pollution Management..
4. The homepage of the database that you have selected will open.
5. Enter a word or phrase that is closely related to your research in the text box provided near the top of the page and then click on the Search button.
6. The Results page will open with a complete list of all of the articles that include the word or phrase that you have entered.
7. Within the list of search results, click on the link under the title of an article to check if you have access to the complete (full-text) article through OARE.
8. If the full-text article is available through OARE, an SFX window will open that provides a link to the website of the publisher where you may open and download the article.

   Note: If the full-text article is not available through OARE, the SFX window will not provide the link  to the website of the publisher.  Rather, you will see the statement: Sorry, No services found for current record.

9. If the full text article is available through OARE, click on the link
10. The page of the article will open. You are now on the website of the publisher.
11. Click on the link to the full-text article in PDF format.  This link could be anywhere on the page, and it could be written in many different ways, including PDF (---K), or Full-text (PDF), or Open full-text (PDF), or Entire Document (PDF), etc.
12. A window will open with the full-text article in PDF format.  Several minutes will pass before the window opens if your Internet connection is slow.
13. Save or print the article by clicking on the corresponding icons on the top left-hand side of the PDF window.

OARE provides more detailed training manuals and example exercises for each search database that is available through OARE. These training manuals are located on the Training page of the OARE website at http://www.oaresciences.org/training/.

The following is a brief description of each of the major search databases available in OARE, and an indication of the breadth of research and the scientific disciplines on which they focus. For more information, please refer to the website of the database provider

Other Resources

OARE is increasingly providing access to a wide range of valuable books and other scientific and technical reference materials in the environment related sciences.

Other Free Collections

If you are not eligible for full access to OARE, there remain many important, free collections of scientific literature that you should know about. View many in OARE in the drop down menu under Other Free Collections.

If you are having difficulties using OARE or have identified a problem with the system and require help, please write to us at help@oaresciences.org.