Ivy Tech Community College Virtual Library
East Central Indiana Region: http://www.ivytech.edu/library/east-central
Off-campus: Use the Library tab in Campus Connect
Muncie: 765-289-2291 x1450, 1451
Anderson: 765-643-7133 x2313
Marion: 765-651-3110 x3422
Guide to
EBSCOhost
EBSCOhost features multiple searchable, online databases, containing mostly full-text journal and
newspaper articles covering a variety of general and specific subject areas. Brief descriptions of the
databases are given on the introductory screen where you can choose one or more to search. Detailed
information (titles, full-text and date coverage, search tips, etc.) is available online by clicking Title List
or More Information links under each brief database description. Databases are updated daily to
quarterly.
This guide assumes a basic level of computer experience. If you are new to the Internet and online
databases, don’t hesitate to ask a library staff member for assistance.
Off-Campus Access
You can access the library through the web portal Campus Connect with one login for all college services –
look for the Library tab. Any questions or concerns regarding off-campus use can be directed to
library staff.
Getting on
Target
• Open Netscape, Firefox, or Microsoft Explorer (any browser).
• On campus in the library, the Ivy Tech East Central Region Virtual Library page
should appear. If not, press “HOME” in the browser, or type in the following
URL: http://www.ivytech.edu/library/east-central/ (also listed at top of this
page). Alternatively, and especially when off-campus, you can use the Library
tab in Campus Connect.
Choosing
EBSCOhost
1. Look at the top of the Find it section for Library research databases, and
click "Find articles":
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There are
also quick
links to
many
databases
on the right
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2. On the screen under Select databases by type of resource, click the link for
EBSCOhost.
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3. You will see a screen (as below) stating “Logging into EBSCOhost …, please wait.”
Selecting
databases
4. A list of EBSCO’s databases will then
appear, each with a check box to its left.
(Don’t worry that you can’t read the list to
the right; it just serves to illustrate the
format, and only shows a partial number
of databases available—there are quite a
few more! You’ll need to scroll down on
the actual screen to see all of them.)
5. Click your mouse in the boxes of as many
databases as you want to search; check
marks will appear. To deselect a database, click in that box to remove the
check mark.
6. Click either one of the gray Continue
buttons located above or below the
database list to continue on to the search
screen.
•
You can search any individual database by clicking the blue title of the database on this screen.
•
You will also find these individual databases
accessible from the "Browse library resources
By Subject" listing (also in the Find it section
of the Virtual Library home page). Academic
Search Premier will be the most commonly used
for all subjects. Other popular subject-specific
databases include Psyc-ARTICLES, ERIC, and
Health Source: Nursing/ Academic Edition, and
Business Source Premier.
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Beginning
Your
Search
7. Type your search terms in the search box, and select ways to limit or expand your
search. Click Search.
Search Box
Databases originally chosen
Click tab to change selection of
databases if desired
Choose ways to limit your search below.
Check box to limit search
results to full text articles only.
Check box to limit search results to articles that have
been reviewed by experts in a particular field.
You may limit search to a
particular publication here.
You can also
• Set a date range,
• Indicate how long you want your
articles to be (or a range, like 3-5)
• Limit to PDF, or Text with Image
format
• Set special limiters for particular
databases, such as publication type
(periodical, newspaper, book,
industry report, etc.).
Choose ways to expand your search
(get more results) below:
Helpful Search Hints:
• Use quotation marks to search for exact phrases (for example, “computer phobia”).
• Use connecting words (Boolean Operators) between words entered in search box:
o
o
o
• Select this option to search for your terms within the full text
of the articles (normally you are searching the citations only).
• Select this option to search for all terms you entered, in any
order within the text. Your terms are automatically "anded"
together. If you surround terms with quotation marks, the
phrase within the quotation marks is treated as one term.
• Select this option to expand results to include the synonyms
and plurals of your terms.
And – combines search terms so that each search result contains all of the terms. For example, education and technology finds articles that contain both terms.
Or – combines search terms so that each search result contains at least one of the terms. For example, education or technology finds results that contain either term.
Not – excludes terms so that each search result does not contain any of the terms that follow it. For example, education not technology finds results that contain the
term education but not the term technology.
WILDCARD (?) and TRUNCATION (*) Symbols -- Use the wildcard and truncation symbols to create searches where there are unknown characters, multiple spellings or various
endings. Neither the wildcard nor the truncation symbol can be used as the first character in a search term.
•
•
The wildcard is represented by a question mark (?). To use the wildcard, enter your search terms and replace each unknown character with a ?. EBSCOhost finds all
citations of that word with the ? replaced by a letter.
For example, type ne?t to find all citations containing neat, nest or next. EBSCOhost does not find net because the wildcard replaces a single character.
Truncation is represented by an asterisk (*). To use truncation, enter the root of a search term and replace the ending with an *. EBSCOhost finds all forms of that word. For
example, type comput* to find the words computer or computing.
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Viewing
Search
Results
Refine Search – allows you to make changes to your search
Total Number of Hits
Clicking an article title
(blue) will give you the
HTML full text article
with the full citation
information at
beginning of article.
Each result listed shows title, author, source, date,
publication information, and length.
Clicking on HTML Full
Text or PDF Full Text
shows the article with
abbreviated citation,
or no citation with PDF
version. Make sure
you get the citation
information.
Note: The PDF Full Text format is actually a
photograph of the print source page – so may be
“prettier” but is slow to load and slow to print.
When you have a choice (as with #1), go with
HTML.
Folder option – articles can be added for
emailing, saving to disk, or printing at a later
time, if you are interested in more than one
article.
HTML Full
Text Article
Screen
Help Using
EBSCOhost
Additional
help is
available -at the top of
any screen.
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