EBSCO Databases are an integral part of the research process, this guide will give you an introduction to EBSCO and what it can do to help with research.
How to Use EBSCOHost
1. Step One – How to get to EBSCOHost
Go to the WPC Library’s webpage at http://library.warnerpacific.edu and click on the “Databases A-Z” link in the left-hand menu. On the next screen is a list of databases, select EBSCOHost.
2. Step Two – Choosing the appropriate database
Choose the database within EBSCOHost that you want to use for your search. Each database within EBSCOHost searches a specific discipline. Read the description for each database to see which one works for your assignment.
Tip: For general topics Academic Search Premier is a great place to start!
Note: You can access EBSCOHost off campus. When the system asks you to login, use your WPC email username and password.
3. Step Three – Entering your topic
You will be directed to a search screen. At the top of the screen you will see 3 search bars. Enter in the information you want to search. From the dropdown menu to the right of the search bar select how you want the search engine to search your information. Below is an explanation of your more common search options:
- AU Author – Finds articles for that author.
- TI Title – Finds exact or similar titles.
- SU Subject – Finds information on a specific subject.
- SO Journal Title – Finds all articles in that database from that journal.
- PE People – Finds information about a specific person (use if trying to find biographical information).
Tip: When typing in your topic, EBSCOHost will offer some suggestions related to or similar to that topic.
Tip: You can limit or focus your search by using more than one topic. Enter each topic separately into one of the 3 search fields. Select from the dropdown menu to the left how to want the search engine to interpret the additional topic.
- And – Will search for results with both/all topics as a subject.
- Or – Will search for results with either one or both of the topics.
- Not – Will exclude a certain topic from your search. (Example: Say you want to do a research paper on war prior to 2001 but your results are predominantly full of reference to the Iraq war, which you don’t want. You could type in “war” as a subject in your first search box and in the second search box type “Iraq” as a subject and select “not.)”
4. Step Four – Limiting your results
It is highly recommended that you use some of the limiters below the search bars to limit your results to a manageable amount. Below is an explanation of what some of the limiters do:
- Warner Pacific periodical holdings – Limits search results to articles that can be found in printed copy in the WPC Library.
- Warner Pacific Library EBSCOHost online subscriptions – Limits search results to what journals WPC Library subscribes to online.
- Full text – Will only list articles that either have an HTML or PDF file that you can read online.
- Cited reference – Will only pull up articles that have been cited by other articles within the database.
- Scholarly journals (peer reviewed) – Will only pull up articles that are from credible, academic journals.
- Published date – Will only pull up articles within a specified date range. (Example: May 2001-September 2003.)
- Publication – Will only pull up articles found within a certain journal.
- Publication type – Will only pull up information found in one of the formats listed.
- Document type – Will only pull up information found in one of the formats listed.
- Number of pages – Choose the number of pages you want each article to be.
- All – Will pull up all articles no matter what the page length.
- Equal to – Will pull up all articles with the amount of pages you designate.
- Less than – Will pull up all articles that have fewer pages than what you designate.
- Greater than – Will pull up all articles that have more pages than what you designate.
- Cover story – Will only pull up articles that were the cover story of a newspaper or journal.
- Articles with images – Will only pull up articles with images.
- All – Will pull up all articles whether they have images or not.
- PDF – Will pull up articles that are in PDF format
- Text with graphic – Will pull up articles that have images or graphics.
5. Step Five – Your results
When you have finished entering all of your search topics and limiters, hit the “search” button. The next page will be your results. To view more information about the article click on the article’s title. From the article’s page you can print the article, email it to yourself, read an abstract, or get the article’s citation. (If the article is available in HTML or PDF format click on the link to read the article.)
Tip: If you are having trouble finding enough information on your topic, take a look at the subject terms listed for one of the articles and try searching one of those to expand your search.
Tip: If the WPC Library does not have the article and it’s not available in HTML or PDF format, you can still get the article by clicking on the Interlibrary Loan link on the bottom of the article screen page.
6. Step Six – Let your research guide you
Your research doesn’t have to stop here. From the search results page you will also see additional ways to limit or expand your search. On the left-hand side of the screen are lists of ways in which your results can be limited or expanded even more:
- Source types – Will limit your results to information either found in one of the listed formats.
- Subject – Lists other common subjects among your search results.
- Publication – Will limit your results to articles found only in a specific journal.
- Subject: Thesaurus terms – Will list similar subject terms to the one you searched.
- Author – Will list all articles in your results by the same author.
- Company – Will list all articles in your results published by a corporation or group.
- Publication type – Will limit your results by one of the listed formats.
- Geography – Will limit your results based upon where the article was published.
- NAICS/Industry – Limit your results based upon a certain industry.
7. Step Seven – Still need help?
If you are still having trouble finding the information you need, stop by the Library for assistance, call 503-517-1102, or email library@warnerpacific.edu.
