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Research Made Easy
1. Selecting a databases
Most of Spalding’s databases are ESCBOhost databases, meaning that they can be selected and searched
simultaneously, however all of Spalding’s databases can be accessed through portal by selecting
University Library under Quicklinks on the portal page and then Databases under Quicklinks on the
library page as shown below. If you are not in the library and researching from home or another
computer, it is still possible to access most of Spalding’s databases without a password using the
Spalding portal.
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Depending on your area of study or research topic, you will need to identify which of the databases that
Spalding provides access to best suits your needs. Most are provided by EBSCOhost, which means that
you can search multiple EBSCOhost databases at once. Do this by checking off the databases that you
would like to search.
Here is a general breakdown of the databases that Spalding provides access to and the general areas
that they cover. These categorizations are merely suggestions and in no way should you limit your
search strictly to these divisions.
Business
Academic Search Premier
Business Source Premier
Regional Business News
Communication
Communication and Mass Media Complete
Controversial Topics/Persuasive Speeches
Issues and Controversies on File (Not an EBSCO database so searching is different)
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Dissertations
Dissertation Abstracts--Digital Dissertations (Not available off-campus, not an EBSCO database
so searching is different)
Dissertation Abstracts (Not and EBSCO database so searching is different)
Education
Education Research Complete
ERIC
Professional Development Collection
Teacher Reference Center
General Topics/ Current Events
Academic Source Premier
Agricola
Communication and Mass Media Complete
Funk & Wagnall’s New World Encyclopedia
Military & Government Collection
Newspaper Source
Primary Search
TOPICsearch
Health Sciences
CINAHL
CINAHL w/ Full Text
Health Source – Consumer Edition
Health Source- Nursing/Academic Edition
MEDLINE
Mental Measurement Yearbook
PsychArticles
Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
PsychINFO
OT Search (Not an EBSCO database so searching is different)
Humanities or Liberal Studies
Communication and Mass Media Complete
Humanities International Index
Literary Reference Center
MLA International Bibliography
Religion and Philosophy Collection
Social Sciences
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Family and Society Studies Worldwide
Greenfile
Social Work Abstracts
Social Work Encyclopedia Online
SocINDEX
Sociological Collection
LFPL Databases- You can access the Louisville Free Public Library’s databases from any computer
with your library card and password. They provide several databases that might be valuable in your
search.
Business
Business and Company Resource Center
Business Reference USA
Morningstar
Wall Street Journal
General Topics/ Current Events
Courier-Journal
New York Times
New York Times Historical
Humanities or Liberal Studies
Biography Resource Center
History Resource Center: US
JSTOR
Lands and People: Online
Literature Resource Center
2. Full Text Searching, Abstracts, and ILL
When accessing articles from the databases, one of the first things you need to do is to determine if you
need the article immediatlelly or have time to wait for Interlibrary loan (ILL). Inter-library loan allows
you to access articles and books that Spalding does not own. Partnering colleges and universities send
these articles to the Spalding library and the process usually takes from 1-2 weeks. The urgency of your
need dictates the best way for you to search the databases.
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Full text
EBSCOhost and most other databases give you the option of limiting your search to only the full text
articles contained within the database. Within EBSCOhost you can limit your search to full text either at
the beginning of your search…
or after you have searched.
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If you have started your research early enough and given yourself time to wait for articles then you can
expand your search by not limiting your search to full text only articles. Read the article’s abstract and
determine if it would be something that pertains to your topic. If so, you can request the article via
interlibrary loan (ILL). Some articles provide direct links that allow you to ILL directly from the
EBSCOhost database.
By selecting the ILL Request link you will be directed to Spalding’s ILL Request Form. All of your article’s
information will be entered and you need only to fill out the personal information.
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If the article does not provide an ILL Request link then you must enter the article’s information into the
Spalding ILL Request form manually. The form can be accessed from the library’s homepage. Make sure
you get the author(s) name, title of the article, the journal title that the article appears in, the date, the
issue, and the page numbers.
3. Selecting Search Terms and Advanced Searching
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Articles are categorized and made accessible in databases through subject indexing. Each article is given
appropriate subject terms that attempt to categorize its intellectual meaning, create finding tools for
those searching the databases and create access points in order to give the databases the ability to link
your search terms to relevant articles. If you know how databases work and search with appropriate
subject terms then you will have greater success and retrieve more accurate results.
Here’s an example of an article accessed from the EBSCOhost databases and the subject terms used to
index it.
One way to make sure that you are searching with the appropriate terms or using the language that will
make for the most effective search is to use the thesaurus or subject term index provided by
EBSCOhost. It can be accessed by selecting the Subject Terms tab at the top of the main search page.
If you are having trouble finding articles that are relevant to your topic then use the subject terms
thesaurus as make sure that you are searching with the appropriate terms. Here’s just a general idea of
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how this is used. The term low income was searched and the subject terms thesaurus suggested using
poor instead.
Another example is using the term high blood pressure in the subject term thesaurus and it suggested
that instead that the term hypertension should be used.
Searching the subject terms thesaurus also allows you to view broader and narrower subject terms that
might be relevant to you topic. Here are several terms associated with obesity.
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If you select one of the terms then the subject terms thesaurus gives you the narrower, broader and
used for terms that the database has associated with this term.
Advanced searching
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The most accurate searches result from combining several subject terms together in an Advanced
Search. This gives you more control over the searching and is the best way to limit the number of
articles that do not pertain to or have relevance to your topic. An advanced search can be performed by
selecting the Advanced Search link just below the main search box on the main search screen.
Once in the advanced search screen, you can enter multiple search terms into the multiple search boxes
available. Combining search terms in this format will give you a more accurate search and will limit the
number of articles that are returned and that do not pertain to your topic.
4. Searching for Books that Spalding does not own.
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Most academic libraries link their collections together through one database know as World Cat.
Although Spalding has a diverse collection, we do not own all of the books that might be useful to you
and your topic. One way to see what is available, if you have the time to wait for an ILL request, is by
searching the World Cat database. The World Cat database can be selected from the list of Spalding
databases. Simply enter your search terms in the search boxes.
View your results and if you see a title that you would like to obtain then select the book’s title.
After selecting a title, your next step is to select the interlibrary loan link that is available. It reads
“Borrow this item from another library.”
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From there you will be prompted to the ILL form to fill out. Notice that the book’s identifying
information is displayed and all you need to do is fill your personal information and submit the form.
Other Links and Ideas
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Metroversity students can check out materials at any of the partnering institutions so it’s
always a good idea to check their library catalogs. Going to pick the book up might save you the
time it takes for the ILL to ship it to the Spalding Library. You must have your Spalding id with
you to use these libraries and additional cards and residency requirements may be required
especially for public libraries.
Academic Library Members:
Bellarmine University Library
http://www.bellarmine.edu/library/
Indiana University Southeast
http://ius.edu/library/
Jefferson Community College Library
http://www.sunyjefferson.edu/library/index.html
Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary Library
http://www.lpts.edu/Academic_Resources/EMWhite_Library.asp
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Library
http://library.sbts.edu/
University of Louisville Libraries
http://louisville.edu/library/
Public Library Members:
Jeffersonville Township Public Library
http://jefferson.lib.in.us/index.html
Louisville Free Public Libraries
http://www.lfpl.org
New Albany Floyd County Public Library
http://www.nafclibrary.org
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