rev. Feb. 1,
2008
The MPI Library's Online Databases
Except
for the MPI online catalog, these databases are password-protected subscription
services. They are paid for by the MPI
Library and are intended for use by MPI students and faculty. We ask that you not share the user IDs and
passwords with others.
Articles
from all the subscription databases can be formatted for printing or can be
emailed to any address.
[A
hard-copy version of this page, with IDs and passwords included, is available
as a handout in the Library.]
URL: http://library.midpac.edu
Search types:
From the default Basic tab, you can
do a Subject, Author, Title, or Series search.
To do a Keyword search, click on the
Power tab at the top: here you can
combine up to three keyword search terms (called a Boolean search), or use truncation with the asterisk (e.g. farm*).
Sorting order:
In the search results list, the default sorting order is by Relevance. You can change it to sort by Date if you want the most recent books
to show at the top.
Backing up:
If you want to go backwards, don't use the browser's Back button. Back up by using the links on the green bar
at the top. (Sometimes using the Back
button generates error messages.)
EBSCOhost primarily includes periodical (magazine and
newspaper) articles. It also includes
some reference book chapters (from e-books), pamphlets, and primary source
documents.
Many, but
not all, of the EBSCOhost articles are in full text (either HTML or PDF, or
both).
URL: http://search.ebscohost.com/
NOTE:
Please ask one of the MPI librarians for the MPI User ID and password.
For CURRENT information: The MAS Ultra—School
Edition database is intended for high school use. Middle Search Plus
is intended for middle school use. There
are also many other topic-specific databases (e.g., Computer
Source, Health Source, etc.)
The databases all open up by default to a Keyword
search, but for common terms/topics, a Subject search may get better
results.
In Keyword searching, you can use Boolean logic (AND, OR, NOT) and also
truncation with the asterisk (*).
Focusing your search: When you do a search, a
yellow column on the left of the results screen gives you options to Narrow
Results by Subject. This very useful feature helps
to focus your search.
Folder:
Click on the Add link to collect good articles as you are browsing. This adds items to the Folder. When you're done,
you can go into the Folder (top-right) and then print, email, or save the
articles.
Changing databases: If you don't get good
results, you can try another database via the pull-down menu below the search
box. Or to get back to the home page,
use the Select Another EBSCO service blue tab at the top.
Searching for particular document types: In Keyword search, you can use the Publication
Type pull-down menu below the yellow bar.
Or, if you do a keyword search without using the pull-down menu, click
on one of the links at the top of the result list (Reference Books,
Biographies, Primary Source Documents, etc.).
For HISTORICAL information: Use the History Reference
Center database (a mix of e-books and periodical articles):
In Keyword
search, you can use the Timeline
pull-down menu below the yellow bar to limit your search to a particular time
period in either World or
Gale Databases (The Discovering Collection and
Gale Virtual
Reference Library)
These two databases include articles from e-books on topics
including social studies, history, arts & humanities, literature, health,
science/environment, and technology.
Discovering Collection
URL: http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb?db=DC
NOTE: Please ask one of the MPI librarians for
the MPI password.
Search using one of the following methods:
a) Do a Basic Search, using the Limiters as
needed. You can do Boolean searches
using AND, OR, NOT.
If you don't find enough through the default Subject search, try
switching to Keyword. (You can
use truncation with the asterisk (*), but if you do, you lose the sorting by
Relevance, which can be a problem.)
b) Use the Topic Trees below--using either the
buttons (Cultures, Science, etc.) or the alphabetical list.
When the results show up, you can click on one of the Subject
Terms in the column on the left to focus your topic. Also note the tab options at the
top. The article types are listed
on the right. Articles are color-coded:
green-dot ones are best for middle school; yellow-square ones are best for high
school.
The Print/Email/Download options are at the top of each article.
Gale Virtual Reference
Library
URL:
http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb?db=GVRL
NOTE: Please ask one of the MPI librarians for the MPI password.
GVRL includes articles from several multi-volume
e-book sets. To see the list of e-books
that our library has, click on the Show
All link below the search box on the opening screen.
To search in ALL the e-books combined, use the Basic Search box on the opening
screen.
In Basic Search, if you enter more than one word, the
search returns records that contain ALL of the words in your search string, but
the words will not be kept together as a phrase. Use quote marks to keep phrases
together. You can do Boolean searches
using AND, OR, NOT. You can use truncation with the asterisk –
e.g., comput* will find computer,
computers, computing, etc.
The default is a Keyword
search. For more results, switch to Entire document. For less, use Document title.
To use just ONE e-book, first click on the link to enter that e-book and
then either:
a) Use the Quick Search box on the left, but be sure to check the box to
search "within this publication."
b) Browse by clicking on the eTable of Contents link and select the
volume you want from the pull-down menu.
On the results list page, note that in the yellow box on the left, you can Narrow Results by either Document Type or by Publication Title. You can also Mark good articles as you
browse, and then click on Marked Items at the top to see your list.
The Print/Email/Download options are in the Tools
box on the right side of each article.
The World
Book Advanced includes all articles from the 22-volume World Book
Encyclopedia print set plus thousands of additional articles, reports,
pictures, maps, and media. It also
includes thousands of primary source documents.
The site is updated daily.
URL: http://www.worldbookonline.com
NOTE:
Please ask one of the MPI librarians for the MPI Login ID and password.
To search, just enter your search term in
the box (which appears on every page).
The encyclopedia articles will be in the center column on the results page,
with the most relevant articles at the top.
If an article is long, it is broken into
sections, and the article will be displayed one section at a time. The sections
will be listed in the column on the left. If you prefer to see all sections of
a long article on one page, click on the View full article link in the Tools
box at the top. The Print/Email/Save options are all in the Tools
box at the top.
Before printing articles, click on the Print
link to put the article in simple format for printing. You can choose to print
a section, a subsection, or the whole article.
Once
you're in an article, be sure to look at the Related Information box in
the upper-right, which lists excellent extended resources (related World Book
articles, magazine articles, Web pages).
Below that, there also may be a Related
Primary Source Content section.
This is a set of eight databases that cover mostly history & geography, but one (“Issues”) covers
controversial issues in science/tech as well as in social studies.
The databases are:
American History; American Government; United
States at War; World History: The Modern Era; World
History: Ancient and Medieval Eras; World Geography, State
Geography;
and Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society.
URL: http://www.socialstudies.abc-clio.com
NOTE:
Please ask one of the MPI librarians for the MPI Username and password.
Browsing: On the opening screen of each database is an Explore option, which usefully breaks
the database down into specific topics, areas, or time frames. The Analyze
option presents some selected major topics that are explored in depth from
different viewpoints.
Keyword searching: By default, the search returns
records that contain ALL of the words in your search string. Use quote marks to keep phrases
together. You can also do Boolean
searches using AND, OR, NOT. You do not
need to use the asterisk (*) for truncation, as their system automatically
truncates words. Advanced Search gives you more options for searching/filtering.
Search results: On the results page, you can use the Sort menu to sort either by Relevance,
Category, or by Title A-Z. There are
also Filter options on the left to
narrow your search to specific article types (e.g., the "Documents"
section for primary sources).
Within an article, there are useful Related Entries on the right. The Print/Email options are in buttons in the
upper-right.
The databases are: American History Online, Modern World History Online, and Science Online
URL: http://www.fofweb.com/subscription
NOTE:
Please ask one of the MPI librarians for the MPI Username and password.
Browsing:
In American
History Online and Modern World
History Online, the Learning
Centers are the best option (the Browse
options near the top don’t work so well).
In the Science
Online database, the Explore
Subjects option works very well to break down broader science topics into
narrower ones.
Keyword searching: If you enter more than one word, the search returns records that
contain ALL of the words in your search string, but the words will not be kept
together as a phrase (i.e., words are automatically combined with AND). Use quotation marks to keep phrases
together. You can do Boolean searches
using OR or NOT. These databases
automatically truncate words.
Search results page: The search results are tabbed, with the default tab showing All Results. For specific article types, select the
appropriate tab. (The Science Online
database includes one tab with recent News Articles on the topic, from
United Press International.)
Folder: You can Save good articles to the Folder as you browse. The saved article
can be accessed from the Saved Items
link at the top.
Facts on File News Services databases (2)
The databases are: Issues and Controversies in
American History and Today's Science
NOTE:
Please ask one of the MPI librarians for the MPI Username and password.
Browsing: In the
Issues & Controversies database, try the
Subject Index, Chronological Index, &
Issues links on the lower-left.
In Today's
Science, you can browse the Subject
Index and Hot Topics in the
lower-left.
There's also some fun and useful stuff under the Special Features section of both databases.
For topic ideas: In both databases, click on the Need a Research Topic? link in the lower-right corner.
Keyword searching: If you enter more than one word, the search returns records that contain ALL of the words in your search string, but the words will not be kept together as a phrase (i.e., words are automatically combined with AND). Use quotation marks to keep phrases together. You can do Boolean searches using OR or NOT. You can use truncation with the asterisk (*).
Search results: The tabs at the top separate the articles by type. Also, you can sort each list by Relevance or Story Date (on the left).
Once you're in an article, check out the various links on the left side. Print/email options (icons) are in the upper-right.
--notes by M. Kemble, Mid-Pacific
Institute Library
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