Searching Ebsco--The basics

  FIND ARTICLES

• Choosing search terms

• words to include--Choose words that are specific to your topic.  For example, if you are researching the snowshoe hare do not search for "animals", "rabbits", or "hares", search for "snowshoe hare".

Use the language most likely to be used in articles.  For example, use "children" or "youth", not "kids", and "marijuana" or "cannabis", not "pot" or "weed".

Suggestions for searching more than one term at a time...

• words to leave out--Do not include words like "articles", "effects", "research", "results", or "studies" in your searches.  While many articles include a discussion of effects, research, results, or studies, it is unlikely these words will appear in the subjects or titles of the articles.  Use only words that will distinguish articles about your topic from all the other articles in the database.

Also avoid words likely to describe every article in the database you are using.  For example, do not search for words like "education", "school", or "teaching" in ERIC, the education-specific database.

 

• Deciding if an article is relevant
  There are so many articles in the databases that you will have to inspect your search results carefully to choose material that is directly related to your topic.  Use the following to help you choose:

• subject terms--Many citations will have subject terms listed.  Read through these terms to help you decide if the article is relevant to your topic.
• abstract--Many citations will include an abstract (overview or summary) of the articles.  Reading through this can help you decide if the article will be useful for your research.

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IMPROVE YOUR SEARCH RESULTS  

• AND, OR, and NOT

Using the words AND, OR, and NOT (sometimes called Boolean operators or Boolean logic) to combine your search terms can help you search more effectively:

• Refine your search Along with designing a good search you can weed out articles that won't be useful for your research by using some of the "refine search" features:

Make sure the "refine search" tab is selected--it will be green.

Useful options include:

• Full Text--use to limit your results to those available full-text through the database
• Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals--use to limit your results to articles published in peer-reviewed journals.  You will still need to look carefully to determine if the article itself is scholarly.
• Published Date--use to limit your search to a certain time period.  You must give a beginning and an ending date.
• Publication--use to find articles from a particular journal, magazine, or newspaper
• Number of Pages--use to find articles of a certain length.  Works best if you use a range of pages, for example 5-8.

KEEP TRACK OF ARTICLES

If you would like to print, email, or save multiple articles or citations EBSCO's "folder" feature will come in handy.  As you scan through your search results you can add potentially useful articles to your folder by clicking the link.  When you are ready to view your chosen citations simply click the link.  You will have the option to print, email, or save your citations (and full-text articles).

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GET COPIES OF ARTICLES  

• FULL TEXT ONLINE

                      
(best for reading on the screen)          (best for printing)

Depending on the database in which you are searching, you may find the full text of your article included as either an HTML document or a .pdf document.  This means you can print, email, or save an electronic copy of the entire document directly from the database.

 

• IN PRINT IN THE LIBRARY

(our holdings will vary)

There are some journals, magazines, and newspapers that the library still receives as printed material.  When you see the above message you may be able to find your article on the library's shelves.  Check to see that our subscription (holdings) covers the date you need.
 

• FROM ANOTHER LIBRARY

If you find a citation for an article that is not full-text online and the library does not have a subscription to the periodical we may have to ask another library to send you a copy (interlibrary loan).  If you are enrolled as a COCC student this is a free and easy way to get materials that we don't have locally.  It does, however, take time (sometimes up to two weeks), so plan ahead when using this service.  To borrow through interlibrary loan just follow the above link in the databases.  For more information about interlibrary loans see the ILL webpage.

OSU students must use OSU's interlibrary loan service--see their website for details.