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EBSCOhost Databases

EBSCOhost offers a common interface for searching a number of databases at URI — Academic Search Premier, America History and Life, CINAHL, EconLit, Film & Television Literature Index, Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, GreenFILE, Historical Abstracts, Inspec, Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts, MAS Ultra, Mental Measurements Yearbook, Military & Government Collection, Music Index Online, Primary Search, PsycARTICLES, Teacher Reference Center, Textile Technology Index, and Women’s Studies International.  Also available via Providence Public Library: Alt HealthWatch, Auto Repair Reference Center, Business Source Premier, Consumer Health Complete, Health Source, MasterFILE Premier, Newspaper Source, NoveList, Regional Business News.
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EBSCOhost databases can be searched by selecting the desired database from the list of reference databases at http://www.uri.edu/library/reference_databases/title.html.

The default search page for the majority of the EBSCOhost Databases available through the University is the Advanced Search. You do have the option to conduct a Basic Search but, for more control over your search, perform an Advanced Search.

Search features include limiting your search by full-text, peer-reviewed, journal title, number of pages, articles with images, date, or any combination of the above. You may expand your search by searching for related words and/or searching for the keyword(s) within the full text of articles.

The Advanced Search also allows you to use the Boolean operators AND, OR, and NOT to combine searches, to select specific fields to search, and to combine many operations into a single search. All of the “limit” and “expand” options listed for the Basic Search are also available in the Advanced Search.

Academic Search Premier Advanced Search.
Academic Search Premier’s Advanced Search Page.
For help with any aspect of the database, click on the Help link at the top right corner of the page. To select appropriate subject terms, click on the Subject Terms link in the blue bar. To search a specific journal, click on the Publications link.

You may use the ? to replace a letter in a word. For example: wom?n will find articles with records containing both woman and women. Using the * will find all words beginning with a part of a word — eval* will retrieve evaluate, evaluation, evaluations, etc. See the Help files for other options. The results of your search are presented in an abbreviated format.

Results Page — By default, your results will be shown in reverse chronological order. You may wish to sort your results by Relevance using the pull-down menu at the top of the Results list. You may also collapse or expand the Limit Your Results pane on the right by clicking on the blue arrow in the frame.

Each abbreviated record contains the basic citation information for the article. If the full text is available within the EBSCOhost database that information will be provided below the record. If the EBSCOhost database does not provide the full text, links to other options are offered (see record #2 in the image below).

Options for narrowing your search are located to the left of your results. Subjects that pertain to your search are links which, if clicked on, will present you with a more focused list.

Search Results -- Abbreviated Format.
Search Results — Abbreviated Format.
Evaluating the results — Although EBSCOhost databases offer links that allow you to restrict results list to a particular Source Type, the best method for judging an article’s research value is to read the full record.

To view the the complete citation and abstract, click on the article title. If the database provides full text for the article, you can either print, e-mail, or save it. You may also add the citation to an online folder for later access. (This last option requires that you set up an account, which you can do at the top of any of the database pages by clicking on the link Sign In to My EBSCOhost in the blue bar.)

If the EBSCOhost database does not provide the full-text of the article, scroll down to the bottom of the citation page and click on the Search For Full Text link to determine if the article is available online through another database or in print.

If the full text is not available either online or in print through the University Library, copy down the citation provided by the EBSCOhost database and use Interlibrary Loan to obtain the article.

 Full Record for an item.
Full Record for an item.

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If you have any questions on how to use EBSCOhost databases, please contact the Reference Desk at (401) 874-2653. EBSCOhost databases are available to students, faculty, and staff of the University of Rhode Island only.

J. Burkhardt, B. Kenney & A. Rathemacher, 11/01 • A. Izenstark, rev. 12/02 • A. Rathemacher, rev. 3/04 • B. Gallagher, rev. 8/06 • A. Izenstark, rev. 7/08