EBSCOhost
A Bellevue University Library Guide
What is EBSCOhost?
EBSCOhost is a large journal database that provides access to thousands of full-text publications on a broad range of topics, including business and company information.
Databases found within EBSCOhost include the following and many more:
| Academic Search Complete |
Medline Complete |
| Business Source Ultimate |
Mental Measurements Yearbook & Tests in Print |
| CINAHL Complete |
Military and Government Collections |
| eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) |
Newspaper Source Plus |
| Education Source |
PsycARTICLES |
| International Security and Counter Terrorism Reference Center |
Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
How to access EBSCOhost:
Mouse over Find on the library homepage. then click on Databases. Now click on EBSCOhost on the right side of the page under "Recommended databases." If off-campus, you will be prompted for your BRUIN Connect login. Once you are logged into one database, you are logged into all of them, until you close your browser.
How to do a Basic Search:
- Enter a search term or phrase that is relevant to your topic into the search box.
- EBSCOhost will Search citations and document texts for terms that match your terms.
- If using more than one search term, you may type in the Boolean connectors (AND, OR, NOT) between terms.
- All databases are searched by default, but you can limit to specific EBSCO databases, click on Choose Databases.
- Search Options. This area is located just under the search box and provides options for refining your search.
- Search Modes and Expanders. This allows you to switch from Boolean searching to any of the other modes listed.
- Limit your Results. Use the options available here to limit your search to full-text articles and/or scholarly (peer-reviewed) journals. You may also choose to search specific journals, specific dates, or a specific type of publication. In addition, each database within EBSCOhost has options specific to it.
- After you have entered your keywords, selected your databases, and set any options and limiters, click on Search. A list of articles will be displayed that fit your search criteria.
How to do an Advanced Search:
- Fields. The advanced search gives you the option of selecting the fields you wish to search for your keywords, such as title, author, subject, journal title, or document text. Type your search term or phrase into one of the search boxes, then use the drop-down menu to select a field, if desired. Otherwise, leave it set on “Select a Field” and EBSCOhost will search the citation and document text for your search terms.
- The subject field. EBSCOhost uses a controlled vocabulary for its official subject terms; this differs depending on the EBSCOhost database you are using. It is best to use the official term when you select the subject field. If you are not sure of the subject term, just leave the field set to "Select a Field (optional)." You can select subjects when the results come up.
- To find the official subject term, consult the Thesaurus found under Subjects in the top navigation bar. Choose the Thesaurus that best matches the general subject you are searching for; Academic Search Complete is multidisciplinary and is a good choice if you are not sure.
- Type a term in the Browse box, selecting either "Term Begins With," "Term Contains," or "Relevancy Ranked." Major terms in your results list can be expanded, and terms can be added to build your search directly from the Thesaurus.
- If using one of the specific EBSCOhost databases, click on Subject Terms in the top navigation bar, and it will automatically use the relevant Thesaurus, then proceed as above.
- If desired, just leave the menu set to Select a Field (optional) and use the filters in the column to the left of the results list to select subject terms.
- Search options. You have all the same options that are available with the Basic Search (see above).
- After entering your keywords and setting your options, click on Search. A list of articles will be displayed that matches your search criteria
Results List:
- Your list will be displayed by relevance, but documents may be resorted by descending or ascending date using the menu above the list.
- Use the Page Options menu, also located above the result list, to change the page layout and the number of results per page.
- Refine Search. In the column to the left of the results, there is information about your search as well as options for focusing it.
- The top item in the column will tell you how many results were found and the search terms and limiters you used.
- In the Refine your Search area, you may add to or edit the limiters you have chosen for your search.
- Other options in the left column let you sort your results by source type, a specific publication, or in various other ways, depending on the document.
- One especially useful option lets search within your results by clicking on one of the suggested Subject or Thesaurus Terms in the left column. You may select more than one subject or term, by clicking on "Show More" under the list.
- The column to the right of the results displays related information, such as images or videos, as well as any items you have put into a folder. The 24/7 Librarian chat box is also available here in case you have a question about using EBSCOhost.
- You may preview an article by clicking on the magnifying glass symbol to the right of the article title. The abstract and brief article information will appear in a pop-up window, which also contains links to the article itself.
- When you find an article you wish to view, click on either HTML Full Text or PDF Full Text, depending on which formats are available.
Other features:
- Inside this work. If the article you have chosen is available as a PDF, there are some additional features available in the column to the left of the PDF. These include viewing the Table of Contents from the issue your article is in, hyperlinking to those articles, or viewing other issues of this publication.
- Tools. The toolbar to the right of the article has many options for working with your article, including saving, printing, emailing, bookmarking, and even citing.
- The Cite feature displays the article's citation in a number of formats, though it cautions that you may have to make corrections. Use it only as a guide.
- The Permalink is indicated by a link symbol and will display the persistent link to the article. The URL in the address bar is not a persistent link.
- Email and Print options also appear in this toolbar.
- Folder. Click on the folder icon to the right of the document title to put items that are of interest to you in a temporary folder located in the bar at the top of the page. It keeps a running list of folder items in the right column. You may view the contents of the folder at any time, however, these articles are saved only for the current session and will not be saved once you exit EBSCOhost. You can put an article in your folder directly from the Results List or from the toolbar next to the displayed article.
- Create an Account. To set up a permanent folder that will keep your articles for later viewing, even after exiting EBSCOhost, click on Sign In in the navigation bar at the top of the page. Then click on Create a New Account and fill out the form. Sign in before putting articles in a folder and they will be saved for future use. You may create folders within your main folder to organize your saved articles.
Printing and E-mailing Records:
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Articles in HTML format may be printed by clicking on the Print icon in the toolbar to the right of the text of the article.
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You may email articles by clicking on the Email symbol in the toolbar. PDFs are generally sent as separate attachments, while articles in HTML format are sent in the body of the email.
Tips for Using EBSCOhost:
- Click on Help in the top right corner of every page for tips on searching and for using the various features in EBSCOhost. A number of three to four minute tutorials are also available from the Help pages.
EBSCOhost (library tutorial)
mm 7-20
