Lesson 5: How to Use Electronic Databases

          The Fountain-New Library offers access to several online databases of academic material which can be pertinent to research projects.

GALILEO (Georgia Library Learning Online)

           GALILEO, a statewide initiative of the University System of Georgia, is a collection of databases which provides access to a wide variety of resources.  These resources include articles from periodicals (many in full- text), Census information, government publications and library online catalogs.  If you are searching GALILEO from an External Program location or at anyplace away from the Mount Vernon campus, you will need to contact a member of the library staff at 1-800-342-1087, Ext. 235 or your External Program site coordinator for the library's current GALILEO password. 

          To access GALILEO, go to the library's website and click on the Library Services (External Programs) link.  Once you click on the GALILEO link, you will be taken to the GALILEO homepage, pictured below.

            Probably the most efficient way to begin research is to click on one of the two databases indexed on the homepage: Academic Search Premier or Research Library.  With either of these, you can search for any topic within any subject discipline area.  If further research beyond these two databases is needed, GALILEO offers additional databases which are housed under the subject specific tabs located at the top of the homepage.  In this tutorial, you will be guided through the search process using EBSCOhost databases.  The steps for using ProQuest are very similar; therefore, the search techniques learned in EBSCOhost can easily be transferred to ProQuest.

Searching in EBSCOhost

A.  Choosing databases   

            You can use the databases located in GALILEO or other EBSCOhost databases indexed on the library's website. Go to the Library Services (External Programs) page, then click on the Research Databases (EBSCOhost) link. You will see a list of links available for searching including the top link that says "EBSCOhost Databases".  When you click on this link, it will take you to another list of databases available for your research.  All of the databases work very similar and their interfaces are the same, although they cover different subject matters.  You will need the current username and password in order to access these databases.  A library staff member or your External Program site coordinator can assist you with this.

B.  Searching for a topic 

          After you have selected your databases, you will automatically be taken to the “Basic Keyword Search” screen.  Enter your keyword or phrase in the box provided, and press “Search.”  You may narrow your results by specifying a journal title, date published, or by limiting your search to full-text articles only.

          An “Advanced Search” allows you to designate the fields of a record to search, such as author, title or subject.  To perform an advanced search, click on “Advanced Search” in the EBSCOhost toolbar.  Type your search term(s) in the Find box and choose a field code from the drop-down box.  You may enter additional search terms in the optional text boxes and select Boolean operators (and, or, not) to connect multiple search terms.

C.  Displaying results

           After inputting and limiting your topic, click the “Search” button to execute the search.  The results will be displayed according to publication date, beginning with the most current articles.  Each record will provide a link to the corresponding article with the bibliographic citation.  If the article is available in full-text or in full image (full-text with any images from the original article), an icon and link will be provided.  If the article is not available in full-text or full image, you will be able to view the abstract by clicking on the title link.  If you find that you need an article that is not in full-text, you should consult the Fountain-New Library’s Periodical Holdings List to determine whether the journal is held by the library.  If the library owns the journal that the article appears in, you can submit a Journal Article Request Form to obtain a copy of the article.  If the library does not subscribe to the journal, you may request the article through InterLibrary Loan (See Lesson 3: How to Find Articles.)

Wilson OmniFile

          The library provides access to the Wilson OmniFile database which is linked on the Library Services (External Programs)page.  With this service, patrons may search for articles from indexes representing certain subject matters (i.e. Business Index, Social Sciences Index, etc.).  The "Readers Guide to Periodical Literature" index covers all subject areas.  To access this database, please contact a member of the library staff at 1-800-342-1087, ext. 235 or your External Program site coordinator for the username and password.

A.  Searching for topic

Advance Search

     On the Wilson OmniFile database's homepage, you will automatically be able to search for an article using the "Advance Search" method.  To perform a search, you will need to select which indexes you want to use by clicking on the box located next to the index.  You can search by more than one index at a time.  Enter your keyword or phrase in the box provided, then select how you want the words to be searched by selecting a method from the drop down list (Title, Subject, Author, etc.).  You may enter additional search terms in the optional text boxes and select Boolean operators (and, or, not) to connect multiple search terms.  You also have the option of limiting your search results with the limiters provided below the search boxes.  An example of the Advance Search screen is shown below.

Basic Search

        A “Basic Search” allows you to input terms you want to search in a single text box.  You will need to choose which index you want to search from first by clicking on the box next to the index.  You can search by more than one index at a time.  An example of the Basic Search screen is shown below.

B. Displaying results 

After clicking “Start,” you will be taken to a screen that displays the results of your search.  At this point you can select which article best suits your needs.  Each article title in the results list will provide a link to the corresponding article with the bibliographic citation.  If the article is available full-text, you can click on the appropriate icon to view the entire article.  A search results screen is shown below.

You may now proceed to the exercise for this lesson.