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Information
Literacy andLibrary
Instruction
JAMES E. SHEPARD MEMORIAL LIBRARY
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Search Strategy and Database DesignERIC and PsycINFO Search Design by Discipline
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What is a database?Definition: A large, regularly updated file of digitized file of digitized information
(bibliographic records, abstracts, full-text documents, directory entries, images,
statistics, etc.) related to a specific subject or field, consisting of records of uniform
format organized for ease and speed of search and retrieval and managed with the
aid of database management system (DBMS) software. (http://www.abc-
clio.com/ODLIS/odlis_odlis_d.asps ) Copyright 2004-2010 by Joan M. Reitz,Retrieved 02.08.2012.
http://www.abc-clio.com/ODLIS/odlis_odlis_d.aspshttp://www.abc-clio.com/ODLIS/odlis_odlis_d.aspshttp://www.abc-clio.com/ODLIS/odlis_odlis_d.aspshttp://www.abc-clio.com/ODLIS/odlis_odlis_d.aspshttp://www.abc-clio.com/ODLIS/odlis_odlis_d.aspshttp://www.abc-clio.com/ODLIS/odlis_odlis_d.aspshttp://www.abc-clio.com/ODLIS/odlis_odlis_d.asps8/2/2019 Search Design Strategies
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Types of Databases
Databases can be organized by the scope of the information they contain. Being aware of what this scope is
can be helpful in selecting a database to begin your information search.
General interest databases include information from several different subject areas and disciplines.
Discipline-specific databases include information for several related subject areas.
Subject-specific databases focus on providing information for one particular subject.
The James E. Shepard Library has databases listed alphabetically by title, by subject, and by full-text for your
assistance.
http://web.nccu.edu/shepardlibrary/tools/databases/db_alphabetical.htmlhttp://web.nccu.edu/shepardlibrary/tools/databases/db_subject.htmlhttp://web.nccu.edu/shepardlibrary/tools/databases/db_fulltext.htmlhttp://web.nccu.edu/shepardlibrary/tools/databases/db_fulltext.htmlhttp://web.nccu.edu/shepardlibrary/tools/databases/db_fulltext.htmlhttp://web.nccu.edu/shepardlibrary/tools/databases/db_fulltext.htmlhttp://web.nccu.edu/shepardlibrary/tools/databases/db_subject.htmlhttp://web.nccu.edu/shepardlibrary/tools/databases/db_alphabetical.html8/2/2019 Search Design Strategies
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General Interest Databases
General interest databases are a great place to begin research or for a general topic search to see whats out
there. These databases contain the broadest range of materials and include many different subjects anddisciplines. Examples of general interest databases include:
Academic Search Complete (EBSCO) Identifies magazine and journals articles in most subject areas
including social sciences, humanities, education, computer sciences, engineering, medical sciences, and
ethnic studies.
Academic OneFile (Gale) This multi-disciplinary database provides access to over 3000 journals, with
links to full text for over half of the journals.
LexisNexis Academic (Lexis-Nexis) Identifies articles from journals, newspapers and reference books.
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Discipline-specific databases
Discipline-based databases are more focused then general interest databases. These databases include
materials in several related subject areas. Materials are usually only from professional/trade publications and
scholarly/academic journals. If you are having trouble finding information on your topic in general interest
databases, try a discipline-based database.
Ethnic NewsWatch Identifies full-text access for 200 newspapers and journals of the ethnic, minority
and native press.
PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service) Contains information sources for government, politicalscience, and related topics.
SocINDEX (EBSCO) Identifies articles in all areas of sociology including anthropology, criminology,
ethnic & racial studies, politics, religion, rural sociology, social psychology, and urban studies.
Sport Discus Scholarly and popular information on all aspects of sports, exercise, training, etc.
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Subject-specific databases
If you are doing in-depth research on a topic, you will want to use subject-specific databases. These
databases usually only contain materials from professional/trade publications and scholarly/academic
journals.
Business Source Complete This business resource exceeds all other databases available in terms of its
premium content of peer-reviewed, business related journals.
CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature - EBSCO) Authoritative coverage of
the literature related to nursing and allied health. Historical Abstracts Scholarly articles on the history of the world from 1450 present.
PsycINFO Identifies articles, books and dissertations in psychology and related subjects.
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Basic Searching and/or Smart Text Searching
Basic Search
The Basic Search Screen lets you create a search with limiters, expanders, and Boolean operators. To create a Basic
Search:
Enter your search terms in the Find field on the Basic Search screen.
Click the Search Options link, if you would like to use any of the optional Limiters or Expanders. To close the Search
Options, click the link again.
Select a specific search mode, such as "Find all of my search terms," or "SmartText Searching."
Apply Limiters such as Full Text or Publication type; or use search options that expand your search, such as "Apply
related words."
Click the Search button. The Result List displays.
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Cont.What is SmartText searching?
EBSCOhostoffers SmartText Searching a natural language search
strategy that allows you to enter as much text for their search as you
want a phrase, a sentence, paragraph, or even whole pages.
How SmartText Searching Works:
SmartText Search takes the chunk of text entered into the search box
and first runs it through a sophisticated summarizer, pulling out all the
main words/phrases in the chunk of text.
SmartText Search takes all of those main words/phrases and queries
them against the database, getting back a sorted list of the
words/phrase that are most relevant as compared to that database's
content.
Based on this result, a relevancy weight gets assigned to each
word/phrase.
A search string is then built OR'ing the terms and their weights
together, and a search is conducted against the database.
A relevant Result List is returned.
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Search Strategy, Combining Terms and Limiting Featuresof a Database
Selecting Search Terms Before selecting an appropriate database the research topic you must first
decide on a topic and the topic or research term must be broken down into parts by identifying the main
keywords or concepts. Example of a topic: How does self-esteem relates to the academic achievement of
freshmen? This topic can be broken down into three distinct concepts.
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Controlled Vocabularies
Many specializeddatabases have theirown set of subjectheadings which reflectthe matter of thediscipline.
Thesaurus of ERICDescriptors
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Controlled Vocabulary
Thesaurus ofPsycInfo Descriptors
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Controlled Vocabulary
Databases with controlled subject vocabularies searchable through a thesaurus help take the guesswork out
of selecting the appropriate subject headings. Most online thesaurus displays provide information about
when the term was first introduced, provide a definition, and list related, broader, and narrower terms that
may also be selected. However, you must realize when you select descriptors through the thesaurus the
search will be limited to the descriptor field of the record rather that searched throughout. It will not search
the title field or the abstract or the full-text.
Academic SearchComplete subjectterms
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Specialized fields
Many databases have specialized fields which are relevant to the subject covered or discipline. You should
become familiar with the particular fields provided in the database(s) you use. ERICassigns a grade level(s)
such as primary education and a document type such as research reports, guides and conference
proceedings to each of them in the Advance Search Mode. PsychInfo has such as Age Group, Classification
Codes, Population Group, Methodology, etc. Often searching in a particular field can narrow the number of
hits significantly and may prove valuable in a specific field of hits significantly and may prove valuable in a in
fine-tuning results to your needs. Be careful however what you are eliminating for you may eliminate
something important to your research.
Special Limiters Apply limiters specific to a database. If you select a special limiter, it is applied only
to the database under which it appears.
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Visual Search
LEARNING STYLES - Visual Search...
Is seamlessly integrated with the popular EBSCOhostuser interfacesLets users choose between a block or columnar style of results display
Facilitates user understanding of large data sets in a single view
Complements traditional Basic and Advanced Search options
Provides users with the flexibility of Date or Relevance sorting capability
Allows results to be grouped by Subject or Publication name
Simplifies the focusing of results with its Date Range slider
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MyEbsco
Sign in to access your personalized My EBSCOhostaccount
Save preferences
Organize your research with folders
Share your folders with others
View others' folders
Save and retrieve your search history
Create email alerts and/or RSS feeds
Gain access to your saved research remotely
Export to Bibliographic Management Software