EBSCOhost Search Service: Tricks & Tips

EBSCOhost is a search service, NOT a database, which gives access to a number of different databases indexing both scholarly and general publications many of which will include full text. After connecting to EBSCOhost, you can select from among the databases listed below:

DATABASE NAME:	SUBJECT CONTENT:
*MasterFile Elite*	Comprehensive includes many full-text articles.
*Academic Search Elite*	Comprehensive includes many full-text articles.
Health Source: Nursing Academic Edition	Scholarly medical, includes many full-text articles.
Health Source: Consumer Edition	Consumer information on medical topics includes many full-text articles.
USP DI Volume II, Advice for the Patient	Provides information on prescription drugs.
Clinical Reference Systems	Discussion of medical topics and conditions in every-day language, includes symptoms, treatment options, etc.
Alt-Health Watch	Holistic and integrated health care includes many full-text articles.
Primary Search	Designed for the elementary school student, access to children's magazines and pamphlets many of which are full-text.
EBSCO Animals	Describes nature and habitat of animals.
Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia	Provides over 25,000 encyclopedic entries, searchable by subject or keyword.

Search Techniques

Keyword Searching:
*Truncation:*	* (the asterisk) is the EBSCOhost truncation symbol. Truncation allows you to search for all forms of a word, by forcing EBSCOhost to find all words starting with the letters you type to the left of the truncation symbol. Example: child* finds child, children, childhood, etc.
*Combining terms:*	Use the following techniques to combine different concepts in your search.
"and"	To narrow your search, link terms using the word and. Only records that contain all terms will be retrieved. Example: child* and television and violen*
"or"	To expand your search, link terms using the word or. Records will be retrieved that contain one term OR the other, use for synonyms. Example: violen* or aggression or destructive
"not"	Precede a term with not to exclude it from your search results. Example: education not technology
(parentheses)	Parentheses should be used to combine different search techniques. Example: employment and (law* or legislation)
*Proximity searching:*	Proximity searching narrows your search even more than using and by allowing you to indicate the maximum number of words that separate your search terms. Instead of and, use n# or w# where # can stand for any number from 1 to 50 W finds the words in the order you typed them. N finds the words regardless of the order. NOTE: There is no space between the letter n or the letter w and the number. Example: child* n20 television w10 violence

Guided Searching: Click on the Guided Search icon found in the top of your screen.
Guided Search Example

Note: All options discussed under Search Techniques are still applicable in Guided Search.

Limiting your search:

"field searching" Use the drop down menu as noted above to search a particular part of the record.
Examples:

SO Journal name Allows you to limit your results to only those records from a specific publication.
AB Abstract Allows you to restrict your search to the paragraph(s) that explains what the article is about, finding more relevant results.
AU Author Search for articles by a specific author. Remember to enter last name first.
TI Article title Search for a specific article by its title.

Use the Special limiter options found below the Guided Search form to further limit your search results.
Examples:

Downloading, E-mailing and Printing from EBSCOhost

Display the results of your search and determine the records you wish to keep. You may Mark the records you wish by checking the box next to the citation and download, e-mail, or print several records at a time. You might also wish to do this one record at a time. Choose the desired option from the top center of your screen

If your results include any full-text records make sure that whichever option you choose(print, e-mail, or save) you select the format that will include the full-text. Example:

Where to Get Help
Onscreen Help: Access EBSCOhost's help by clicking on the Online Help icon.
Reference Desk (314-516-5060 or e-ref@umsl.edu): The Thomas Jefferson Library reference staff is available to answer questions about database searching.

Desktop Publishing/EBSCO/09-01

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