FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions for the Library
 

How do I access the online databases?

EBSCO Databases http://search.ebscohost.com If you are at home you will be asked for a userid and password. Come to the Learning Resource Center and we will give you that information.

Gale and Proquest Databases http://www.lirn.net/services.shtml

You will be asked for a password. Come to the Learning Resource Center and we will give you that information.

I have the userid and password but am unable to sign on to the databases?

Most sign on problems are corrected if you clear your cookies on your computer.  If we had a trial at one time the cookies would be stored and it would be unable to take the userid and password to the database.

I can't find any full text articles?

Find the full text box in the database and rerun the search.  EBSCO's full text box is located on the right toolbar titled limit your results.  Click update results after checking the full text box.

I can't find anything relevant?

You probably did a keyword search instead of an index search.  For index searching in CINAHL go to CINAHL headings, for Pubmed go to MESH headings.  Narrow your results by using the subheadings.  View the index tree to determine the structure of the subject.  Check with the reference desk in the Knowledge Resource Library for further assistance.

The Learning Resource Center is closed and I need help searching in EBSCO, is there any help?

EBSCO provides support after hours.

Hours of operation: Monday - Friday, 24 hour support Saturday & Sunday, 9:00 AM-5:00 PM (EST)
Phone: U.S. / Canada - (800) 758-5995

I like Google Scholar. Is it okay to search in Google Scholar?

Yes, most librarians have a saying and it is “in the end you always Google”.The way to have Google Scholar retrieve articles that have been published within the last 5 years is to go to the advanced scholar search and in the returned articles published between section type in the current 5 years.

I have a citation and want to see if the Knowledge Resource Library has it in full text?

To check the citation in EBSCO.  Select all databases, continue, top toolbar select more, citation matcher and then fill in the citation.

To check the citation in LIRN (Gale and Proquest).  Go to the LIRN search link, check all sources and search by using the title of the article.

You can also check google scholar for the full text.

What is a Boolean operator?

EBSCO explains the operators as

• And combines search terms so that each search result contains all of the terms. For example, travel and Europe finds articles that contain both travel and Europe.
• Or combines search terms so that each search result contains at least one of the terms. For example, college or university finds results that contain either college or university.
• Not excludes terms so that each search result does not contain any of the terms that follow it. For example, television not cable finds results that contain television but not cable.

The most effective way to search and to retrieve the most relevant list of articles is to search in the controlled subject vocabulary. Pubmed uses the MESH (medical subject headings), CINAHL uses CINAHL headings and Academic Search Elite uses subject terms.