EBSCO
In order to access the EBSCO database, go to the Library's Home Page and click select the appropriate database. Check your Library Handout for the User ID and Password.
EBSCO DATABASES
Academic Search Premier
ERIC
CINAHL (Nursing)
PscyInfo
PscyArticles
EBSCO SEARCHING
Trial Databases
Periodically EBSCO will offer extended trials of databases. The library does not subscribe to these and while they may be useful, please do not count on their continuing presence.
When you are using the EBSCO interface you have the option of searching multiple databases. This is not necessarily the best way to search since the interfaces vary from database to database.
The Interface
The new interface initially provides the searcher with the advance search screen. This advanced search screen offers Boolean operators by providing drop down menus. If you move from basic to advanced and then back to basic, the search screen will change accordingly.
Logical errors are easy to make with the interface that contains dropdown menus. Try searching for West Nile Virus in Cats and Dogs. The search West Nile Virus AND Cats OR Dogs results in a logic error. This search must be done using parenthesis, i.e., West Nile Virus AND (Cats OR Dogs). For a more detailed explanation, see the next section on Boolean Operators.
Boolean Operators
For this database, the Boolean operators are provided via a dropdown menu.:
AND | Limits a search |
OR | Expands a search |
NOT | Excludes terms |
Near | N and a number - provides word near each other, order not important N/3 |
Within | W and a number-provides words in a specific order next to each other W/3 |
Parenthesis | Terms in parenthesis are searched first and are treated as phrases. Allows you to group terms. |
Truncation | "*" Searches all forms of the word |
Wildcard | "?" Replaces one letter |
EBSCO states that it default to the AND operator. This is not accurate since the AND operator is needed to separate concepts.
Search Limiters and Expanders (Basic Search)
The basic search provides a number of ways a search can be limited, such as:
- Full Text
- References Available (This turns on a reference filter that allows you to review the references). There are links to web sites and other articles contained in the database.
- Scholarly
- Date
- Publication
- Publication, types
- Number of Pages
- Article format
The basic search may also be expanded:
- Searching the full text
- Include all search terms by default
- Search for related terms
Searching Notes
Here are some good notes for searching:
- Spelling
If you misspell the word, you will not get the expected results.
A new feature shows spelling alternatives
- Must use AND
Words entered together are treated as a phrase.
- EBSCO links to authors, publications, and subject headings (descriptors) and in some cases the references.
- Quotation Marks
Quotation marks generally will enforce a phrase search. EBSCO does not support full phrase searching. Exceptions to this occur when a Boolean operator or stop word occurs in the phrase.
- Stop Words
Words commonly used are excluded from the search. Articles, pronouns and prepositions are often stop words, i.e., "the, for, it, on, as, that" are words that would not be searched. EBSCO excludes stop words even if they are enclosed in quotation marks.
- Punctuation
If you enter punctuation such as commas, or hyphens, EBSCO will search for the terms both with and without the punctuation. You will find when you search with and without punctuation that search results will not be consistent.
Structured Language
Information about structured language is listed below:
- The descriptors are assigned by publisher not by EBSCO. Some terms are commonly used so the descriptor search is still useful.
- EBSCO is an aggregator; they take the files that are provided by the publisher. This means that the subject headings are not uniform across the database.
- Psychology and Education databases are structured language.
- CINAHAL, Psycinfo, and ERIC databases all contain a thesaurus. These databases are indexed using structured language. A thesaurus helps to specifically define search terms and provide alternative vocabulary.
Search Methods - Index Searching
Information about index searching is listed below:
- Some fields are indexed in EBSCO. The publishers of the material, not EBSCO, provide the indexing in the databases. The index language used is not uniform throughout the database.
There are two methods of index searching:
- Select a linked term from an item retrieved and an index search will be performed.
- Populate a field with the following codes:
AU = Author
SU = Subject
TI = Title
Advanced Searching
Advanced searching provides a guided search with the Boolean operators appearing in drop down menus. One advantage is that there are more limiter selections.
Publications Searching
EBSCO allows you to search for specific publications. There are a number of search options. There is an alphabetical browse option, a search for publications beginning with a term, looking for the term anywhere in the title and exact phrase searching.
Suggested uses of publication searching include access for the regular reader and focused research. Publication search results show range of coverage, embargos, and publisher information.
Subject Searching
This is an alphabetical listing of all of the subject headings in the database. It can be searched alphabetically or by relevance. This type of searching may provide more direct access to materials. It may also help to clarify ambiguous searches.
Reference Search
The reference search allows you to search citations. This allows you to search for related items. In order to display the item, you need to select the article and select "find citing articles".
Help
When in doubt, consult EBSCO's help screens. The help screen provides format assistance for citing articles from the databases. Styles provided include, APA, MLA, Chicago, and Turabian.
If you have any questions, you my call or email Jane Endrizzi, 908-852-1400 x2345, endrizzij@centenarycollege.edu or drop in the library for one-on-one training.
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