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How To Use EBSCOhost ®
| To search: |
|
Academic Search Elite |
MasterFILE Premier |
The EBSCOhost® 
indexes and databases may be used to search for citations and abstracts of periodical (journal, magazine, newspaper, etc.) articles and other materials. Some full text articles are included, others may be located by use of the Find It button. It is accessible via the Internet from on and off-campus computers.
SEE ALSO: How to Use ERIC via EBSCOhost guide for special ERIC tips.
Logging On/Off
To log on from any library webpage select Articles from the Find menu, and then click on either the link to EBSCOhost® listed under Indexes & Databases by System or the first letter of an EBSCOhost ® database listed under Indexes & Databases in Alphabetical Order and then on the database name.
To log off, click on the UNIV OF WISCONSIN-WHITEWATER link near the top of the display or on your browser's home button.
Selecting Databases
If logged on to the full EBSCOhost system, the next step is to choose databases to search. Academic Search Premier is the default choice, because it is a broad subject database. It is best to select databases that are tailored to your topic. Do this by either clicking on a single title link from the menu of databases or by checking the box preceding each of those you would like to search, then clicking on 
.
If already logged into EbscoHost databases, click on either the Choose Databases tab or the dropdown menu displaying the current databases to change selections. Select or deselect databases by checking boxes preceding each one. Then click on to search the selected databases.
Searching
Whether using the Basic, Advanced or Visual search, the search screen indicates the databases selected. There is also at least one Find textbox for entering terms. The techniques below are useful for making efficient searches and saving you time. Click on 
to run the search.
To revise or perform a new search, make changes to the terms in the Find textbox at the top of the display, then click on . If this box is not part of the current display, first click on the Refine Search link, a highlighted search tab or the Keyword button on the EBSCO® toolbar.
To clear the search box, click on 
.
Search Techniques
To retrieve records with: |
Search for: |
|---|---|
| various forms of a word, such as sail, sails, sailor or sailing | sail* |
| various single letters e.g. enterprise, enterprize | enterpri?e |
| a phrase (articles, pronouns and prepositions are ignored) | "endangered species act" |
| more than one word, adjacent or not | endangered and species |
| synonyms or other related words | england or britain or "united kingdom" |
| multiple words, including synonyms or other related terms | crim* and violen* and (juvenile* or teen*) not urban |
Note: When using the Advanced Search, either type a Boolean operator (and, or, not) or select it from the menu.
Search Options
Limiters
NOTE: Limits are not standardized amongst the various EbscoHost databases. These limits are the ones most commonly available.
To find only references to articles published in a specific journal, magazine or newspaper, type its title in the Periodical box.
To find only references to articles published at a certain time, select months and type four-digit years in the Published Date boxes.
To find only references to scholarly journals which have articles that have been reviewed by a panel of experts, mark the Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals check box. Note: Not all scholarly journals are peer-reviewed, nor has each article in a peer-reviewed journal been through this process. Be sure to evaluate what you find.
Expanders
To search within the entire text of articles, when available, click in the Also search within the full text of the articles check box.
To search using words similar to those in the Find box, click in the Also search for related words check box.
Displaying Results
Result List
At the top of the Results List is the most recent search. Below this is the number of records retrieved, followed by brief records for each item arranged chronologically by publication date, the most recent first. In some databases, such as Business Source Elite, the source types (academic journals, trade publications, magazines, etc.) of the results are listed near the number of records.
A brief record for an article includes its title, author(s), publication title and date, volume, issue, page numbers and a persistent (permanent) link. (This information helps differentiate the article from others, and is used when citing it.) There may also be a link to the fulltext of the article or a 
button.
To browse up or down a display of brief records, use the scroll bar.
To browse another set of brief records, click on 
, 
or a page number at the top or bottom of the display.
Citation View
The Citation view expands on a brief record by adding Subject Headings, an Abstract and other detailed information.
To display the previous or next record, click on or at the top or bottom of the display.
To return to the Result list from a record's citation view, click on the Result List link at the top or bottom of the display.
Full Text
Most EBSCO® databases provide the online text of some articles from selected periodicals. The text is in either PDF, scanned images of the article in portable document format, or HTML, the transcription of an article into hypertext markup language. HTML Full Text excludes photographs and other graphics unless they have been reinserted as image files indicated by a camera icon superimposed on the HTML Full Text icon 
, and may contain typographical errors. Thus PDF is the preferred format, since it exactly replicates the print version.
When the full text of an article is not available online in the database(s) being searched, but is available in another from EBSCO®, 
Linked Full Text appears. Click on this link to go to the article citation and from there to the text.
Note: Some citation styles require the database name when citing electronic articles. Since the digital text retrieved via this link is from a different database than that you began in, check the Database field for the new name.
If the full text of an article is not in EBSCO®, there will be a Find It link and button . Click here to open a menu of services showing where else it might be available. If the article is online, an Electronic Full Text link to it will appear. If the periodical is in print or microform, use the University Library Catalog link to check whether the date needed is available and where. If no electronic holdings exist, the Interlibrary Loan ILLiad link may be used to order it for a small fee.
PDF Full Text 
To display the digital text of an article, click on PDF Full Text in the record.
Note: Viewing a PDF file requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is installed on all UW-Whitewater computers. Off-campus users may download it for free by using the Acrobat Reader link in the footer of this page.
To return to the detailed record from a display of digital text, either close the window if Acrobat Reader opened in a new browser window, or click on 
Citation if it opened in the same window.
HTML Full Text 
or
To display the digital text of an article, click on either the article title or / HTML Full Text in the record. If viewing the detailed record, scroll down to view it.
Note: The full text of a lengthy article may be displayed in several separate parts. Scroll down to the end of the display and look for a More Full Text link.
When viewing a display of digital text, there are several possible ways to return to the detailed record for the item: scroll up, click on a Top of Page link, or click on Citation.
To return to the list of search results from the detailed record, or a full text display, click on Result List.
Folder (for group actions)
It is possible to select articles from several searches, add them to a folder and manage the folder contents for printing, emailing or saving to disk. The folder contents are retained until the user performs an action (print, email or save) or the session times out due to inactivity. By default, items are removed from the folder after an action, although this may be changed by unchecking the box preceding Empty folder after... on the Print, E-mail or Save Manager display.
To have a record added to the folder, click on either 
following the brief record in the Result List or 
in the detailed record or full text display. Once in the folder a record exhibits this icon 
, and the folder message changes to Folder has items.
Printing
PDF Full Text
PDF Full Text articles must be printed individually.
Click on PDF Full Text to display an article using Adobe Acrobat®. Click on 
on Acrobat's toolbar, then either accept All or click in the Pages radio dial and specify a range. When ready, click on 
.
Detailed Record, HTML Full Text
To print folder items, first click on 
.
Click on 
. Review what to include when printing, and then click on 
.
If the Print window appears, either accept All or click in the Pages radio dial and specify a range, then click on .
If the Print window does not appear, click on on the browser's toolbar. Alternatively, click on File, select Print, then either accept All or click in the Pages radio dial and specify a range, then click on .
E-mailing
To e-mail folder items, first click on .
Click on 
. The E-mail Manager window appears, showing the Articles display.
Type an e-mail address (for example, bushgw06@uww.edu) and a subject in the designated boxes. Review what is included in the email.. To send a PDF full text, check the box preceding PDF as separate attachment (when available). Click on 
and then on Continue .
Graphics reinserted as image files may only be emailed separately from the text. Start by right-clicking on the image and copying it, then paste it into an email.
Saving to Disc or Student Storage
PDF Full Text
PDF Full Text articles must be saved individually.
When viewing the PDF Full Text, click on 
on the Adobe Acrobat toolbar.
Either accept the given file name or type another in the File name box. Leave Adobe PDF Files (*.pdf) in the Save as type menu. Select a drive from the Save in menu. Click on 
.
HTML Full Text
To save folder items, first click on . Click on , Save or Save to Disk. The Save Manager window appears, showing the Articles display.
Click in check boxes preceding options to change them, then click on . The items to be saved appear.
On the browser's toolbar, click on File, then on Save As. Either accept the given name or type another in the File name box. Select a text (.txt) or web (.htm) option from the Save as type menu. Select a drive from the Save in menu. Click on .
Graphics reinserted as image files may only be saved separately from the text. Start by right-clicking on the image and selecting Save Picture As... or Save Image.
Open EBSCOhost
Use this quick link to search EBSCOhost now.
EBSCOhost Help
For help while using EBSCOhost, click on the Help link. For additional assistance, contact a contact a reference librarian at (262) 472-1032, by email or chat or in person at the Library's Reference Desk
Last Revised: MS - 2/21/2008
University of Wisconsin - Whitewater, 800 West Main Street, Whitewater, WI 53190-1790.
Circulation Desk: 262.472.5511 | Reference Desk: 262.472.1032 | Periodicals Desk: 262.472.1545
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