Finding Information
Gale has made the Biography Resource Center simple to use. Researchers can use a number of search options, ranging from broad to focused, by typing in anything from the person's full name, or just a part of the name, and selecting other criteria from occupation to nationality.
Users can click on the name of an individual contained in the results list to be taken to a tabbed results screen. By clicking on the tabs, users can access and view lengthy biographies, brief biographies and magazine articles, or even find Web sites that contain information about the individual.
Biography Resource Center also offers "Spotlight On" information that highlights individuals currently in the news or noteworthy historic figures. A brief synopsis of the person's importance — and a link to theBiography Resource Center's tabbed results screen for that individual — along with the person's picture are featured on the Biography Resource Center's homepage.
Searching
Biography Resource Center has a search engine that is simple to use and consistent with Gale's other Resource Centers, making it easy to find results. Biography Resource Center employs three main types of searches: Name Search, Biographical Facts Search and Advanced Search.
Name Search
Name Searchqueries the database for an individual whose name corresponds to whatever a user keys into the search field. Searches can be performed on full names, a portion of a surname, or surnames and first names in any order. If spelling is a concern, a search can be done on just a portion of the name by using the "Name Contains" option.
Biographical Facts Search
Biographical Facts Searchuses highly targeted searches to extract results from the database. This search allows the choice of one, multiple or all of the following options:
- Name - same as above Name Search
- Occupation - search for information that appears in the career section of a biography, i.e. "politician"
- Nationality - locate individuals based on birth or citizenship
- Ethnicity - locate people based on membership in a group that shares common customs, language, etc
- Gender
- Birth and death year
- Birth and death place
- Limit search to results with images
Advanced Search
Advanced Search allows users to focus their searches based on the following options:
- Full text - retrieve results based on the presence of a word, words, or a phrase within biographies and magazine articles
- Keyword - perform more targeted searches based on keywords attached to the entries
- Source - limit results based on the title of a reference source or periodical source contained within the Biography Resource Center
- Magazine date - zero in on magazine articles based on month, day and/or year of the issue
NEW! Recently added to the Biography Resource Center is the Category Browse feature. Category Browse provides quick access to biographical profiles and other resources on individuals in more than 15 categories, including athletes, world leaders, multicultural groups and more.
Search Results
Biography Resource Center 's results are presented in alphabetical order by last name, with birth and death years and nationality and occupation where available. When users select an individual, they will be taken to the tabbed results screen for that person. From there, users can access biographies, magazine articles, and other information. This information is delivered in the following forms:
- Biographies - long biographies on the selected individual, usually 2,000-3,000 words or more
- Brief Biographies - brief biographies containing key facts on the selected individual
- Magazine Articles - full-text articles written about or by the individual
- Recent Update - a "pop-up" window with a brief summary of key recent news about the person
- Web sites - a list of links to Web sites about the individual
NEW! Citations in results lists for Biographies now include the date a biography was last updated, as well as a word count measuring the length of the narrative essay.
Results can be printed using the browser's print commands, or formatted and printed using Biography Resource Center's commands. Particularly helpful results may be marked and saved for easy retrieval at a later time. Just be sure to update the "Mark List" before moving on. Biography Resource Center also has a very helpful citation generator. Clicking the "View Citation List" button displays formatted citations of the resources the researcher just used.
Saving Search Results
Researchers can easily save search results on any page
containing the InfoMark icon: 
Save and copy the persistent URL belonging to this InfoMark
(The URL will be extremely long)
- Save desired results with a "right click" on the address box inside the browser
- You will be presented with a pop-up menu
- Choose "Copy" (The URL is now in the Windows Clipboard)
Users can now use this URL in e-mail, documents, to build Web
pages and much more. To learn more about Gale's InfoMarks
visit www.gale.com/InfoMarks.
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