Regardless of which database you choose, all databases will have many similarities. Gaining a degree of comfort in working with even one database can make the transfer to a second database much more comfortable. Here are some important tips on using the databases.
Accessing the databases: (if you are off-campus, see the instructions at the bottom)
Go to the Staley Library website at: http://www.millikin.edu/staley.
Click on Find Articles, Images, Audio and more.
Under Databases by Subject, click on the subject are that you are interested in.
The Multi Disciplinary databases will cover many different subjects.
Do the following in ALL databases:
Use the navigation provided by the database, not the Back and Forward buttons in
your browser. The database’s navigation will usually be found at the top or to the
side of the screen.
Read the abstracts – that’s the brief summary of the article, when provided, to get
an indication of the substance of the article and its relevancy to your research.
Look for print, save, and e-mail options.
Look for subject headings or descriptors that will help you further refine your search.
Repeat your search using these terms.
Be wary of limiting your search to full-text only, you will miss many good articles if
you do so!
EbscoHost databases:
You may limit your search to scholarly (peer-reviewed, academic) journals by clicking
on the Scholarly (Peer-Reviewed) Journals box in the Limit your results section of
the search screen.
Look for HTML Full Text or PDF Full Text links to allow you to read the entire article.
To open and read PDF files you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer.
This is available free of charge at http://www.adobe.com.
If the article is not available in full-text, click on the Find It button to see if the
article is available full-text in a different database or if the library owns a copy.
FirstSearch/OCLC databases:
To view full text articles, you must click on the
View Full-Text in HTML format or View Full-Text in PDF format link.
Limit options are available below the search term boxes.
Sources owned by Staley Library will include an icon and the note Millikin Univ. Check to
see if we have the year that you need.
If the article is not available in full-text, click on the Find It button to see if the article
is available full-text in a different database or if the library owns a copy.
LexisNexis databases:
Use the Guided News Search, when available. Follow the steps listed.
The default date search in most of these is Previous six months, be certain you change
this to reflect the dates you are interested in.
