Early Childhood Education

About OCtopus

OCtopus is the Library's search engine. It is similar to Google but requires more attention to your search terms, filters, and overall search strategy. Most of the content in OCtopus is considered 'academic' but results also include popular content such as articles from magazines and newspapers.

Consider using a tool like OCtopus, similar to how you would shop for something online. For example, if trying to buy a pair of pants from an online clothing store you might narrow your search to jeans, you might add the size, perhaps a particular colour of denim, whether they are a particular style or cut, etc. This will narrow your results to all the options that fit your need. 

Parts of OCtopus

1. Advanced Search: use to add more fields to your search; this will help you keep your different concepts straight
2. Research Starters: these built-in encyclopedia articles will give a brief overview of broad topics
3. Click here to have a quick preview of the article or book you want to look at
4. Change the publication date of items you see with this option: very helpful for gathering recent information!
5. More filters are available (news, ebook, video, and more)
6. The method to access the item will always be in the top left, whether it is a PDF, "Full-text finder," or "Retrieve Catalogue Item"
7. Keep track of this information: you will need it for citations!
8. Abstract: this is a summary of what the article is about

Access to the library's electronic resources can occasionally be complicated by browser cookies or cached information that prevents links from opening correctly. Opening links in an incognito/private window often fixes these access problems.

Chrome

You can open an Incognito window in your Chrome browser by using the keyboard shortcut CTRL + Shift + N, or clicking the Customize options in the top right-hand corner of the window and selecting the "New Incognito Window" option.

You can also try right-clicking on the link you are attempting to open and choosing "Open Link in Incognito Window".

Firefox

You can open a private window in your Firefox browser by using the keyboard shortcut CTRL + Shift + P, or by clicking the Application Menu options in the top right-hand corner of the window and selecting the "New Private Window" option.

You can also try right-clicking on the link you are attempting to open and choosing "Open Link in New Private Window".