The Databases

If you look at the top of this guide, at the top of any research guide in our system, or at the library homepage, you will notice a black navigation bar. One of the options on this bar is labeled Databases.

Selecting that option will take you to the main portal for our Electronic Resources, which should look something like this:

Let’s quickly go over the most important parts of the Electronic Resources page.

1. First, we have the navigation pane to the left.

   This navigation pane shows that we are on the main page, which will give us access to all eighty of the available databases. However, from this navigation pane, we can also choose to browse Databases by Subject, an option that will open a new page:

2. Second, back on the main Electronic Resources Page, we have the A–Z Database List. This is a dropdown menu that, when selected, will display all of the available databases in alphabetical order.

   If you find this method of exploring the database list too cumbersome, you may also click the link labeled View More Results. This will take you to a separate A–Z Databases page:

   On this page, you can see all the databases in alphabetical order. Hovering the mouse over their titles will show you their descriptions.

3. Finally, on the main Electronic Resources Page, we have the box near the bottom of the screen that features a list of reference databases.

   These databases include such reference resources as specialized dictionaries and encyclopedias. These can be useful for getting a broad overview of a subject. They are particularly helpful when you are beginning your research and need to learn general information before focusing in on a more specific topic.

There’s no space to go over the interfaces of all the different databases available in our system.

However, approximately two thirds of our databases are hosted by an organization called EBSCO. Almost all of these databases have the same interface, and this interface can even be used to search multiple databases simultaneously.

Finding EBSCOhost

There are a few different spots on the Electronic Resources page from which you can get access to EBSCOhost.

1. Most of the databases in the A–Z dropdown list are hosted by EBSCOhost. However, you can also see the full suite of available EBSCOhost databases by selecting EBSCOhost Databases from the list.

2. Directly under the A–Z dropdown list is a box called Additional Search Tools. You can explore the box's other content on your own, but you will notice one link labeled EBSCOhost Databases. Since EBSCOhost is so prominent in our database system, this link is placed here to make it easy to open EBSCOhost without searching through the A–Z list.

Selecting Your Database

1. Once you have followed the link to EBSCOhost, you will see a screen that looks like this:

   Don’t be confused; this is EBSCO asking you what interface you want to use. In most circumstances, you can ignore almost everything on this screen and simply select All EBSCOhost Research Databases.

2. This will take you to a screen with a complete list of EBSCO databases available at our institution. Each of the databases has a description so you can determine which will most likely be useful for your research project.

3. For this example, we will simply select Academic Search Complete. This database contains full text and citations of a wide range of publications covering many subjects. You should make it a standard “go-to” when you’re looking for resources. Keep in mind, however, that you can select more than one database at a time.

Searching in the Database

Once you are in the database, you will be presented with a search bar that functions similarly to the library catalog.

You can refer back to the pointers on catalog use for some basic tips on searching. Instead of covering those again, we’ll simply point out some of the differences between EBSCOhost and our catalog:

1. As an example, let’s search once again for resources about the folklore hero John Henry. It’s possible to craft a careful and precise search using the Advanced Search option, but as with the catalog, it’s often easier to limit a search after we’ve started. So let’s begin with a basic search:

2. You can see that this search has returned a lot of irrelevant resources due to John and Henry being common names. Once again, John Henry Newman features prominently:

3. As we did before, we could use Boolean operators and quotation marks to improve our search. Since we did that already in the catalog, we won’t repeat that here. But we will point out that there is once again a left sidebar that will allow us to winnow our resources down:

   This sidebar presents us with a lot of options, but the most important are at the top. We can limit a search:

   • To resources with Full Text, meaning we can have them right away without needing to order them from another institution
   • To Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals, meaning resources written and vetted by experts
   • By Publication Date, meaning we can exclude older or newer sources depending on the needs of our research

   And remember, if you place limiters and don’t get enough resources as a result, it's easy to take a limiter off.

4. There are a lot of other things we can do in the database, but for now, we’ll examine just one more feature. As in the catalog, it’s possible to search by subject. EBSCOhost uses the same Library of Congress Subject Headings that the catalog does, but expands on them considerably. To search by subject, look for the link on the blue navigation bar at the top:

   In Academic Search Complete, the subject headings are called Subject Terms. Unfortunately, EBSCOhost is inconsistent with this label; in some databases, the label may be called Thesaurus or CINAHL Headings or something else. But the link is always in the same place on the navigation bar.

5. Once we are in the subject term list, we can search for the correct term to use to find John Henry by using the Browsing search bar:

6. When we perform the search for the correct term, the database responds by showing us the official subject terms closest to what we entered. Once again, the best term is John Henry (Legendary character). By selecting that term and then clicking the button marked Add, we can enter that subject term into the search bar at the top of the screen.

7. As you can see, this gives us results much more likely to be relevant to our search:

There are many more features to the EBSCOhost database system. On your own, be sure to check out what happens when you Sign In to your account or when you select Search History. Note also the difference between Full Text and a Detailed Record.

Many resources in the databases are available in full text, but not all.

If you come upon an article in an EBSCOhost database that is not available in full text, you can easily order it through interlibrary loan by clicking the link labeled Ask Northwestern to get this item from another library.

This will open a form that has automatically been populated with the information about the article. Simply fill in your personal information at the top, making sure to use your complete NWOSU email address.

Once you have filled out the form, hit Submit. Requested articles are usually sent electronically and arrive within a week.