Research Use and InformationDatabases/2011

Click on the Library Link below

Click on electronic periodical databases link to view our database/research selections.

Click on Traditional MnPALS catalog To search for Books and DVDs.

EBSCO is good for Business, Health and General Information.

ProQuest is very easy to use, great for health and general research.Opposing Viewpoints : Great Database for Different

views on a huge selection of topics.

Reference USA: Used to find people or business information, including stocks, money earned ect..

Literature Criticism: If you need to know about Authors, Poetry, and all types of Literature, this is the one to use.

WestLaw: Law and Business news and sources .

CAMIO: Art resources and research .

Standard Encyclopedia, great place to start.

To Access the Databases, go to your Spartan Net, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the Library, than click on electronic periodical databases. If you are off Campus you will be required to use an user name and password,

your user name is the 14 digit barcode on the back of your campus ID card and your password is your last name.

Under Ebscohost is the also the ebook link, these books can be cited as a hard copy book.

Type in your search terms,I like to use SmartText SearchIt give you more choices.

Pick which database to search from: Health or Business or pick them all

First is EBSCO Host

Click on Continue to type in your search terms

Click on the slide to narrow down the years and limit you search to Full text Articles .

Click on Link to open the article.

Click on yellow

sheet to cite your

information In MLA or APA style.

Print out or

save your article .

CAMIO is a great site for Art research Search for Artist, Painting or Style here or pick from one of the categories below.

Search for Artist, Painting or Style here

Click on the painting or title to gain more information,and also see a larger view of the artist’s work and print out the info.

Using ProQuest

T

ProQuest you can search certain periodicals, everything from Acoustic Guitar to Ziff Davis Smart Business magazines

Type in Search term

Pick your database: medical to general or just use multiple setting.

Pick full text documents and hit the search button

Here they help narrow your subject down, click on link to view.

Click on Full text or PDF link to view your article

Here you can “save” an article under the tab on top called My Research Until you sign out of ProQuest

Here is the saved or marked article for you to view later, just click on link marked item.

x

You can cite the article in MLA or APA style, example above .

Print out or save your article.

Screenshot of the Literature Criticism Online, search series, title or author.

The search page from Opposing ViewpointsDatabase and just few of the subject heading they offer. Just click on the topic to view the articles. And you can which content type : academic, magazines ect..

This is a great site for searching for information about Songwriters, composers and different types of music, search for your subject in the search box or just click on the people tab at the top of the page and Search by the artists last name.Salem Press also offers Science/Global Warming too.

• Search engines • Internet search engines are special sites on the Web that are designed to help people find information stored on other sites. There are differences in the ways various search engines work,

but they all perform three basic tasks: • They search the Internet -- or select pieces of the Internet -- based on important words. • They keep an index of the words they find, and where they find them. • They allow users to look for words or combinations of words found in that index. • Analyzing web resources• Accuracy

Are sources listed for the facts? Can information be verified through another source? Has the site been edited for grammar, spelling, etc.?

• Authority Is the publisher reputable? Is a phone number or postal address available? Is there a link to the sponsoring organization? Is the author qualified to write on this topic?

• Objectivity Does the sponsor have commercial interests? Is advertising included on the page? Are there obvious biases?

• Currency Is a publication date indicated? Is there a date for the last update? Is the topic one that does not change frequently?

• Coverage Are the topics covered in depth? Does the content appear to be complete?

• Might it be ironic? Satire or parody?• Only a few top-level domains are currently recognized, but this is changing. Here is a list of the domains that have been in operation for the past several years and are generally accepted

by all: • .edu -- educational site (usually a university or college)• .com -- commercial business site• .gov -- U.S. governmental/non-military site• .mil -- U.S. military sites and agencies• .net -- networks, internet service providers, organizations• .org -- U.S. non-profit organizations and others• In mid November 2000, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) voted to accept an additional seven new suffixes, which are already in operation or preparing

to come into operation: • .aero -- restricted use by air transportation industry• .biz -- general use by businesses• .coop -- restricted use by cooperatives• .info -- general use by both commercial and non-commercial sites• .museum -- restricted use by museums• .name -- general use by individuals• .pro -- restricted use by certified professionals and professional entities

Tips for Search Engines

• Searching the Web• There are millions of pages of information on the World Wide Web, and finding relevant and reliable information can be a challenge. Search engines are powerful tools

that index millions of web sites. When entering a keyword into a search engine, you will receive a list with the number of hits or results and links to the related sites. The number of hits you receive may vary a great deal among different search engines. Some engines search only the titles of the web sites, and others search the full text.

• Techniques for using the different search tools vary. For best results, read the search tips or hints that are provided at each search site. Also, note that some of the search engines do not allow Boolean searches that combine words with the logical connectors of AND, OR, or NOT.

• Five Quick Tips for Searching for and Finding Information:• Searching online can be overwhelming. Your goal should be to define specific keywords relevant to your subject and search in a way that allows you to obtain fewer,

more specific hits. The more specific you can be in your search, the less time you have to waste searching through sites that do not offer valuable information.• Tip #1: Be specific!

Example: Search for "Ancient China" instead of China

• Tip #2: Use the Advanced Search tool on the search engine. This feature will help you make your search more specific.

• Tip #3: Use double quotation marks (" ") around phrases to ensure they are searched exactly as is, with the words side by side in the same order.Example: "global warming"

• Tip #4: Type keywords and phrases in lower case to find both lower and uppercase versions. Typing capital letters will usually return only an exact match.Example: president retrieves both president and President

• MSCTC MnPALS Catalog - Books, periodicals and more: http://msctc.mnpals.net• List of Available Databases/http://www.minnesota.edu/?id=1183• ProQuest is the easiest to use, I also recommend EBSCO• Remote Access for off-campus database searching• Citing Sources• Son of CitationMachine.com: http://citationmachine.net/index.php?reqstyleid=2• APA: http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citapa.htm• MLA: http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citmla.htm• • Some Main Search Engines:• Google.com• Yahoo.com• Wikipedia.org

Tip For Search Engines

Questions ? Please feel free to Contact the

Library.Doreen Hauge

Library Technician M State Library

Fall/Spring HoursM-Th:7:30am-5:00pm

F: 8:00am-12:00pm900 Hwy 34 East

Detroit Lakes, MN 56501Library: 218-846-3772

Fax: 218-846-3794Doreen.Hauge@minnesota.edu