How to Use Library Databases

Northern Illinois University

UNIV 105

Introduction• Library databases contain indexed journals• Databases vary from multi-disciplinary (many

topics) to highly-specialized (one broad topic)– Some databases contain full-text, full-image displays

of old newspapers (such as the Chicago Tribune)

• Today we will use library databases to find peer-reviewed journal articles about blacks in industrial engineering

The Website• Log on to this site: www.ulib.niu.edu• Click on Article Databases

The Website• You can search databases alphabetically (see below) or

by subject

The Website• If you log on to University Libraries from off-

campus, you will be asked to enter your account code and password

Databases• Multi-disciplinary databases cover a lot of topics

– Annual Reviews covers biomedical, physical and social sciences

– EBSCO contains multiple subject-specific databases

• Some databases are highly-specialized– Hein Online contains nothing but law journals

– SIAM = Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics

• The database of choice for this search is Academic Search Complete, which is a multi-disciplinary database covered by EBSCO

Keyword or subject?• Keywords can be in a title, abstract, subject, etc.

– Usually yields a large number of results– May retrieve irrelevant sources

• Subject refers to a given item's main topic• Controlled vocabulary takes care of synonyms

– ADD = attention deficit disorder

• Boolean operators can be used when searching library databases

Boolean Searches• AND (default) means both of two terms must appear

– Example: "global warming" AND "New Zealand"

• OR means at least one term must appear– Example: "atomic energy" OR "nuclear energy"

• NOT means you don't want a certain term– Example: "mouse" NOT "computer"

• These operators can be combined

The Main Event• Use Academic Search Complete (which is covered by

EBSCO) for this search• On the EBSCO site, you can click the plus sign if you

want to add more terms to your search• Other options include the following:

– Limiting your search to peer-reviewed journals (as is the case in this search)

– Limiting the timeframe (1995-2013, for example)

• Search: ("blacks" OR "African American") AND "industrial engineering"

Results• Our search for peer-review journals with (("blacks" OR

"African American") AND "industrial engineering") as subject(s) yielded 12042 results

• Click on the first entry– "A NOBLE FIGHT: African American Freemasonry and the

Struggle for Democracy in America" by Jacob Dorman (authors are given last name first)

– American Studies (2014), vol. 53, issue 3, 83-86

• Clicking SFX-NIU gives you options like Full Text and Web Search

Summary• When using library databases to find journal

articles, you should search for what you want by subject

• Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) can be used to fine-tune what search items are in or out

• Specific search instructions may vary from database to database

Your Turn• Use Academic Search Complete to find peer-

reviewed journal articles about the following (searching by subject):– Hispanic Nobel Prize winners– Women in business marketing– Blacks in college sports

• What did you find?

Resources• University Libraries (NIU): http://www.ulib.niu.edu• How should I search in a database? (online video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgk3qzl4dLQ• Keyword vs. subject (online video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLClln7icdk• Finding journal articles in Academic Search Premier

(online video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfG3LekVPxs

Any questions?