Research Process

Use OneSearch to search across the library's databases at once for newspaper, magazine, and scholarly journal articles, as well as books and DVDs.

You can use OneSearch - the large search box on the Library website - to find books, articles, streaming videos, and more at Helena College or other Montana academic libraries - a consortium known as TRAILS.  This process is designed to help you familiarize yourself with OneSearch

Step 1: Start at the Beginning

The Basics

• Keep your search simple to start. Use one or two main words from your topic. 
• Try different search words with similar meanings.
• Search results will show a variety of resources. Resources are tagged with Article, Book, Video, etc, depending on the type of resource.
• Click the title link to see more information about the item. Often there is a short summary. 
• You can get the citation for the item on this page. Click on the Citation icon and choose APA, MLA or others. Always double check to make sure the citation is correct. 
• To access the item, look for links like Download PDF link, Full text available, Online Access, Available at Helena College Library Learning Hub (with the call numbers for the item), or Check in other libraries.  

Refine your results

Use Tweak your results to make your search more specific. This is similar to how you'd narrow down your search on an online shopping website. Instead of going through thousand of shoe results, you'd search by size, or brand, or color.  These are a few of the common ways you can make your search more helpful:

• Availability
  • Physical items available - an actual physical book, with real pages!
  • Peer-reviewed journals - If your instructor wants you to use peer-reviewed articles, check this box! You can't tell from looking at an article whether it is peer reviewed or not. Let OneSearch do the work for you.
• Resource Type
  • articles
  • books
  • video
  • newspaper articles
• Date 

Tip: Click on Remember all filters after you make your choices to keep your filters while you search. Otherwise, you will have to choose filters again for every new search you do.

Sign in

• Click on Sign in at the top of the page and enter your Net ID and password. 
• You can save your search by clicking Save Query (above the search).
• You can save/pin articles from your search by clicking on the pin icon by the article title. 
• Access these items by clicking on the pin icon near at the top of the page near your name.
• You can request books from other college libraries across the state if the LLH does not have them.

Step 2: Sample Search

Sample Search: How would you find current peer-reviewed articles on how reciprocity helps build communities? 

This is an example of how you could start that search:

• Type reciprocity communities in the OneSearch box and search.
• Under Tweak my results, check the following boxes:
  • Availability - Peer-reviewed journals
  • Resource Type - Articles
  • Date - Change Date to from 2020 to 2025. 
• Click on APPLY FILTERS, then Remember all filters.

Your search results will be peer-reviewed journal articles published in the last five years.

Tip: Peer-reviewed articles are very specialized. You will need to look through several to pull together the information you need for your project. Finding one perfect research article with all the information is like winning the lottery or being hit by lightening. 

Step 3: Login Information

Username: Net ID # (your HCS number)

Password: whatever your password is for MyHC, Canvas, etc.

The United States copyright laws are designed to prevent people from copying and distributing other people's work without permission. This includes both paper copies (i.e., photocopies, typewritten copies, etc.) and electronic copies (scanned or uploaded).

In an academic setting there is a fair use exception to the permission requirement, but it is only available if you meet the guidelines. If you do not meet the guidelines, permission must be sought.