search first steps

First Steps…

Databases

OverviewOverview

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1. Databases: First Steps2. Database Searching: Basic to Expert3. Databases: Results

What’s so great about electronic information?

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Accessible anytimeAccessible anywherePeer reviewed and authoritative

Public Library or College Resource Centre:Always “checked in” All locations (Branch or Campus) have

equal access

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• Databases are not the internet.

• They are an electronic repository and tool for finding information.

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Next slides illustrate database resources that duplicate book, newspaper and magazine collections….

1….The Ottawa Citizen2….Contemporary Literary Criticism3….Dictionary of Canadian Biography4….Opposing Viewpoints

The Ottawa Citizen in Canadian Newsstand

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The same essays on the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, that were traditionally found in Contemporary Literary Criticism, can now be found in the Literature Resource Centre.

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Dictionary of Canadian Biography

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Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center

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In Summary…In Summary…

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Same information sourceDifferent format

Publishers of databases ….

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Major Database Publishers:

Thomson Gale

ProQuest

EBSCO Host

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Gale databases: common elements

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Publisher identificationDatabase identificationSearch boxSearch optionsOther tools

Gale Virtual Reference Library

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Health Reference Center Academic

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General Reference Center Gold

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……and now compare the others:

ProQuest & EBSCO Host

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Where do you find the databases?

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Find Articles and Research Guides:

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Selecting a Database:

Databases are listed alphabetically, or grouped together by subject,

They can be limited by language.

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‘In-Library Use Only’ Databases

Databases marked with the icon:

are accessible only in

the library

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“Full-Text Only”

This list is a tool to determine which database to search, but...

It is index to full-text magazines and newspapers only.

It doesn’t contain titles

from which articles are

only cited or abstracted.

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Searching the List of Magazines and Newspapers

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Canadian Musician

Results:

“Canadian Musician”

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And so…

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now you know what the databases are, where to find them and how to choose among them.

Next up, How to search …