What is the scope and coverage of ASTA?
How do I search for a Journal Article?
What is the truncation symbol?
How do I get the full text of a journal article?
How are the results ranked?
How do I limit the results to subscriptions held at CSULB?
How do I print?
How do I save/email?
Can I change the language of the search screen?
Is there a list of journal titles used in this database?
What are some related resources for my research?
What if I need more help?
ASTA has over 1 million citations on engineering, chemistry, mathematics, physics, computer technology, other applied sciences, and management and employment in the sciences. ASTA indexes journal articles, conferences, interviews, product reviews, meetings and book reviews.
What years are covered?
Citations from 1983 to present and abstracts from 1994 to present.
1.) Enter your search terms or keywords. Use "keyword" from the pull down menu for the largest search.
For Example:
-or-
Use two (or three) keywords
Note: Use AND, OR to build your search, if needed. Choose key terms and do not use sentences or questions. Make sure words are spelled correctly.
2.) If you know the author's name (last name, first name) use "author" from the pull down menu.
3.) If you know the title, use "title" from the pull down menu.
4) If you know the journal title, use "source" from the pull down menu. Use the asterisk for truncation.
If you need more information on searching use 
.
Search results can be ranked, either by relevance or by date (most recent first). Use the pull down menu to select:
You can limit the results to only those subscriptions held at CSULB by checking the Limit availability to "Subscriptions held by my library" box. Check the year of the citation against the COAST record to make sure we have the article you want.
Note: Use carefully, you maybe missing useful articles that are available through InterLibrary Services.
The truncation symbol is the asterisk (*). For example, irradiat* finds irradiate, irradiation, irradiated, irradiating.
Note: Truncation can only be used after the third character.
1.) Click on the article title you are interested in.
2.) Click on SFX 
to see if the article is available electronically full text in a different CSULB database. If the SFX box includes a link that says Full text available via... click on the link. Check availability and the year of your citation to make sure it is available.
3.) If the SFX box includes the link Check for holdings in COAST, the CSULB Library Catalog it means we have the item in print. Click on the link, find where your year is located in the library. Copy down the call number and your citation information and go find the article in the Library.
4.) If the SFX box only says No electronic full text available at the CSULB Library for this Item it means we do not have this journal. To get this item use Illiad. Note: It will take 5-10 days to get article from Illiad.
To print a citation and abstract, click on the title you are interested in. Click on the print button 
.This will format the record and make the screen print-ready. Click on "File" from the top menu bar and then "Print."Follow the prompts to print your document.
To email citations, from the "Detailed Record" screen, click on the email button
. Enter your email address.It is recommended that you sendthe message as plain text. Click the send button to email the record. To save a record to a disk, click on "File" and then "Save As". It is recommended that you save the information as plain text.
Use the toolbar at the bottom of the page to change the language of the search screens.
Note: It does not give results in the chosen language.
The list of the journals indexed in Applied Science and Technology Abstracts is available through the FirstSearch website.
Content maintained by Hema Ramachandran, Engineering Librarian.
