FAQs: Using the EDIS Website

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What does "EDIS" mean?
I keep getting errors, why isn't anything available?
What are the two numbers I see listed in the search results (e.g., PP225/CG086)?
Will you link to my website?
An article I found on your website is perfect for a project I'm doing. May I use it?
How do I cite a publication on EDIS?
I'm having difficulty printing a pdf I downloaded from the EDIS Website.
What are keywords?
What is an author keyword?
What is a title keyword?
What is a department?
I'd like to report a problem with a specific publication.

What does "EDIS" mean?

Electronic Data Information Source. EDIS is the Electronic Data Information Source of UF/IFAS Extension, a collection of information on topics relevant to you: profitable and sustainable agriculture, our environment and natural resources, 4-H and other youth programs, Florida-friendly landscapes, communities that are vibrant and prosperous, and economic well-being and life quality for individuals and families.

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I keep getting errors, why isn't anything available?

The part of the EDIS website that generates the html document pages and some of the navigational pages was not working at the time you tried to use our website. If you email edishelp@ifas.ufl.edu to tell us of the difficulty and what you were trying to access, we will notify you when the system is up.

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What are the two numbers I see listed in the search results (e.g., PP225/CG086)?

The first is the IFAS Publication number, which is given to documents that are official numbered UF/IFAS publications. The second is the Digital Library Number (DLN), which uniquely identifies a publication in our database. The DLN is also used to form the URL for the publication.

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Will you link to my website?

No. EDIS is strictly a publication database, although publications authors often do link to recommended or cited websites from within their publications.

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An article I found on your website is perfect for a project I'm doing. May I use it?

Yes, as long as you aren't planning to use it for commercial purposes and as long as you cite the source. Please see our copyright page for information on obtaining permission.

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How do I cite a publication on EDIS?

EDIS publications are published by University of Florida departments as part of their mission in the Florida Cooperative Extension Service. Every EDIS publication has a publication number by which it may be cited, and by which it is classified in libraries and in Florida Extension offices. You should include the publication number, author(s), title, the URL, and the publisher in your citation. Many of our publications undergo periodic revision, so the date a publication was accessed, although optional according to some styles, may be relevant.

See the following examples following different style guides.

• Chicago Manual of Style

Author, Albert A. Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. IFAS Publication Number. Gainesville: University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Year of publication. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/DLN. Accessed Month Day, Year.
c.f. CMS 15th ed. sections 17.142-43 for treatment of online books; sections 17.293 and 17.356 for inclusion of publication number for public documents

• APA Style Manual

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle(IFAS Publication Number). Gainesville: University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Retrieved Month Day, year, from http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/DLN.

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I'm having difficulty printing a pdf I downloaded from the EDIS Website.

Try following the troubleshooting guidelines on the Adobe Acrobat site. If you find you are having problems with a specific publication or with only EDIS pdfs but not pdfs from other sites, please email edishelp@ifas.ufl.edu for assistance.

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What are keywords?

In EDIS, a keyword search searches the words found in the body of the text as it is displayed on the html page on our website. Some documents which are only fully available in pdf format, may have keyword access limited to the content of the html access page. In the "More Searches" boxes, keyword searches may be limited to titles and other metadata.

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What is an author keyword?

The author keyword search searches the author by-line of EDIS publications as they appear on the website. Avoid using first or middle names unless you need to narrow down your search, in case the author used different forms on the documents. More searches on the authors name include the IFAS Personnel Directory and the IFAS Publications Catalog. The IFAS Publications catalog will include publications not available on EDIS and lists the results in a tabular format.

All EDIS publications are supported by UF/IFAS faculty authors. Typically, the supporting author is the first author listed. In cases where a new author has taken on responsibility for a publication (usually because the primary author has retired or left), the new supporting author will typically appear last on the author list unless that author has made major revisions to the content.

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What is a title keyword?

Title keywords are words that appear in the document's title. This is a phrase search, so if you are searching for "Small Farms Extension Programs in Southern States", you can find it using the title key words "small farms" but not "small farm" or "small extension"

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What is a department?

All EDIS publications are published through UF/IFAS academic departments, which are responsible for the content of the publications. Usually the department of a publication corresponds to the academic department of the primary (supporting) author of the publication. Although EDIS publications may be the result of collaboration between authors from 2 or more academic departments, only the primary department will be available for searching purposes. The department is listed in the first footnote of each publication.

In addition to academic department, a publication may be associated with a Research and Education Center, a Center or Program, or a County. Although these affiliations will be mentioned on the document, they are not searchable in EDIS.

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I'd like to report a problem with a specific publication

Listed below are UF/IFAS publishing departments and their Publications Specialists. You can contact the publication specialist directly to report a problem with a publication.

Editorial Contacts

The table below lists the EDIS editorial staff and the departments for which they are responsible.

Glinda Burnett 352/273-3904 gburnett@ufl.edu	Entomology and Nematology
Susan Gildersleeve 352/392-2411 x275 skgilder@ufl.edu (bio)	Agronomy Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences School of Forest Resources and Conservation School of Natural Resources and Environment Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Food and Resource Economics
Caleb Sheaffer 352/392-2411 x278 cps138@ufl.edu (bio)	Agricultural and Biological Engineering Agronomy Animal Sciences Microbiology and Cell Science Soil and Water Science Veterinary Medicine
Amanda Aubuchon 352/392-2411 x280 achambli@ufl.edu (bio)	Agricultural Education and Communication Environmental Horticulture Herbarium Horticultural Sciences Plant Pathology
Travis Prescott 352/392-2411 x315 tprescott@ufl.edu (bio)	4-H Youth Development Family, Youth, and Community Sciences Food Science and Human Nutrition Pesticide Information Office

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