How to Use an EBSCOHost Database
This guide will show you how to use the following EBSCOHost databases: Academic Search Premier, Business Source Premier, Encyclopedia of Animals, MAS Ultra: School Edition, MasterFile Premier, Middle Search Plus, Military & Government Collection, Newspaper Source, Primary Search, and Regional Business News.
All of these databases are available through NCLIVE. In order to access this database from off-campus, you will need an NCLIVE username and password. You can obtain these by visiting the library in person, calling us at (252) 638-7272, or e-mailing us at libraryc@cravencc.edu. You must be currently enrolled at CCC and have a valid library card with OUR library. If you call or e-mail, please be prepared to give us your library card number.
Here is a picture of what a typical EBSCOHost screen will look like:
You have several options for limiting your results before you get started.
Notice the Full-Text check box. Most EBSCOHost databases have both full-text and abstracts of articles. An abstract does not give you the full-text of the article. If you only want to see full-text articles, check the Full-Text box.
If you only want to see articles that cite other articles, books, or other works in their writing, check References Available. This can be useful for identifying additional resources on your topic
If you only want to see articles from Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals, check that box. This type of journal usually contains original research by people in a particular field, with the research being reviewed by their peers in that field before it is published.
If you only want material that was published during a certain time period, use the Published Date section. This is particularly helpful if you want to find the most recent information or opinions on a given topic.
Publication Type is helpful if you only need articles from a certain type of source, like a newspaper or a periodical (fancy term for magazine or journal).
You can choose to search for more than one publication type by pressing control and highlighting each type that you want.
Number of pages helps you choose what size article you get. If you only have time to read articles that are ten pages or less, choose the less than option, and type in 10. (You must type in the number, not the word.) If you need long articles, you can choose the greater than options.
You can use more than one option at the same time. (Ex: If you only want articles from peer-reviewed journals that were published between January 2000 and January 2007 that are over ten pages, just check the appropriate boxes.)
Once you have limited your results, go to the Search box at the top of the page, and enter the terms you are searching for. Let's say you are searching for information on drunk driving.
You'll notice that there are over 2000 articles in this database for that term-perhaps too many for you to sift through. Drunk driving is a broad term. It is probably best to think about exactly what aspect of drunk driving you are trying to learn about, and focus your search on that. There are a couple of ways you can do that:
1) Use the Narrow Results by Subject guide on your left. This lists subjects that are related to your search and may be closer to what it is you need information on than the actual term you put in.
2) Go back to the Search box and add on a Boolean operator. Boolean operators are words that can help broaden or narrow your search. The three Boolean operator words are AND, OR, and NOT.
Let's say you're interested in finding statistics on drunk driving. Keep the phrase drunk driving in the find box, but use the word AND, then the phrase statistics. Like this:
Click the search button again.
Now, we have a list of articles that is both smaller and more likely to be relevant to what you need.
Once you have finished refining your search, you can look through the list of articles. When you see a title that interests you, click on it.
At the top of each article, you'll see basic information like who wrote the piece, when and where it was published, how many pages it is, etc. You'll also get an abstract. An abstract is a short paragraph that summarizes the article. If by reading the abstract, you decide that the article is not relevant to you, click the back button and return to searching through the articles.
If this article is for you, you can read it and then decide whether or not you want to keep a copy of it. There are multiple options for saving a copy of each article.
If you wish to print the article, click the Print Link. You can choose whether your print version of the article includes a citation and abstract. You can also choose which style you want your citation to be in. (APA, MLA, AMA, etc.)
If you wish to e-mail the article to yourself or someone else, click the E-Mail link at the bottom of the page. Again, you can include a citation or abstract. You can also send to multiple e-mail address by entering each address, separated by a semi-colon. This comes in handy for when you're doing a group project.
If you wish to save the article to a disk, click the Save option.
These are the basics of using the EBSCOHost databases. If you have any questions that were not answered here, call 252-638-7272 or e-mail: libraryc@cravencc.edu. We'll be glad to answer them.
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