Database Tips

Read the publications available for the sites you are interested in researching. A thorough understanding of the research design, sampling strategy, and excavation methods used at the site will help you define your searches.

Become familiar with the contents of the field manual. An understanding of Crow Canyon's provenience system is essential to a successful search of the database.

Print the instructions for searching the database and for downloading data before beginning your searches. This will save you a lot of time and effort.

Print the list of data fields and codes for each search that you run. It will make the results of the search more intelligible and useful.

To select multiple criteria in a drop-down list, hold down the Control (Ctrl) key (Shift key on a Mac) as you highlight selections with your mouse. The "all" selection at the top of each drop-down list is the default for the search; don't leave it highlighted if you want to narrow your search by selecting other criteria.

Many of the searches will return very large data sets that could slow down your computer, especially if it has insufficient memory. Fine-tune your searches so that they return smaller data sets, and limit the number of records displayed to make viewing the results more manageable.

Use your browser's "Find" function to find particular records within a larger data set. The find function can usually be found on the "Edit" menu.