You are currently browsing the monthly archive for September 2008.
Since Science Direct is a new database for us this school year, there has been some confusion as to what articles you can access. As emphasized in the Science Direct description on the Databases page, our Freedom Collection subscription focuses on current research, providing access to the full-text of most journals (over two thousand) in the database, but only for the current year and up to four years of back files.
If you try to access an older article that shows up in your search results, or one from a journal not included in the Freedom Collection journal list, you will be taken to a log in screen – a clear indication that the article is outside of our school subscription.
As you plan your research, reserve time to search Science Direct from school (our subscription does not include off-campus access). Although Science Direct may be searched off-campus, the full-text can only be accessed on-campus, and searches completed off-campus will not color-code your results as shown below.
A few tips to make your searching less frustrating.
- Use Journals Search or Advanced Search so you have the option of limiting by date range.
- Limit SOURCE to subscribed journals/sources.
- The default date range (for Advanced or Quick Search) is from 1999 to the present. Change the date range to 2004 to present.
- Notice the color coding of search results. Articles with GREEN icons before the title are included in our subscription. Articles with WHITE icons are not. See the sample below in which the first and third articles are included, but the second is not. Color-coding only appears when you search Science Direct on campus.
You may have noticed that several databases to which we subscribe offer you the option of registering for a personal account. In one case (JSTOR), such a registration is required. The advantage of personalized accounts for most databases is similar to what you’ll find with your MyJSTOR account: the ability to save article citations. However, others offer the option to set up search alerts or to organize saved search results into folders.
In addition to JSTOR, the following databases to which MW subscribes offer personalized accounts:
- Access Science (save images for later use in presentations or reports)
- Literary Reference Center (save articles, stories, and poems, and organize them in folders)
- Science Direct (save article citations and sign up for search alerts)
- Scientific American Archive Online (save article citations, organize them into folders, set up email alerts, and more)
Even though Gale does not offer personal accounts for their databases, you may set up search alerts in PowerSearch to be sent to a designated email address.
The new and improved menu of online resources for research – complete with the ever important logon information for off-campus use – is now available in the library. You can pick up a copy of the list (located on the corner of the library circulation desk facing the main seating area) OR download the list (PDF) from the Library Media Center share folder on the school server (file name = onlinepasswords_0809).
Helpful hint: Download the PDF of this list to your personal flash drive!
A few highlights…
- New this year – Access Science, Columbia International Affairs Online (a.k.a. CIAO), Science Direct, and a new suite of literature resources called the Literary Reference Center. Poetry lovers should check out the Columbia Granger’s Poetry Database which is part of this suite.
- Only accessible from school – Project MUSE and Science Direct. You can search both from anywhere and read abstracts, but you have to be on-campus to download the full-text. Another use for that handy flash drive you keep in your backpack!
- Noodle Tools (link on left menu) – If you didn’t have a chance to try this tool last spring, create a personal account for this citation manager to test it out. It formats MLA and APA citations for you, saves them in your account, and then alphabetizes and formats them as Works Cited (MLA) or References (APA) lists that can be exported to Word.
Happy researching!
To be young, gifted, and black...
Drop by the library to peruse the latest book display: “To be young, gifted, and black…”. Inspired by Nina Simone’s song by this same title, the display features books by African American writers and/or about accomplished African American civic and military leaders, scientists, doctors, artists, historians, coaches, and CEO’s.
Established as a department within the Library of Congress in 1914 (and originally called Legislative Reference Service), the Congressional Research Service’s (CRS) legislative mandate is to provide analysis and research reports that help legislators make informed decisions about policy matters. In keeping with their key values, the information they provide is authoritative, non-partisan, and objective, which makes it a great source for becoming familiar with public policy topics.
Unfortunately for those outside the halls of Congress, another key value for CRS is confidentiality; however, that doesn’t keep legislators from posting information online. You can find some reports by doing a PowerSearch – Advanced Search in our Gale Databases and searching for your topic as a key word or subject (using one word or phrase) AND Congressional Research Service as either a Publication Title or Publisher Name. There’s also the CRS search tool from Zfacts.com that harnesses the power of Google Custom Search Engines to find reports. You can find other search tools and archives by searching the web with Google or your favorite search engine.
With election rhetoric clouding our airwaves and bandwidth, reading CRS reports is one way to learn about an issue without all the hype.
