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Research Spotlight

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Each month the Spotlight shines on a database, web site, journal, video, or reference book that relates to research, study, and/or lifelong learning. Please check here regularly for the latest issue. This month's Spotlight  features:

Academic Search Complete 2.0

 

Just in time for the new academic year, Academic Search Complete has been redesigned to incorporate many Web 2.0 features. Produced by EBSCOhost, Academic Search Complete is one of the most popular research databases provided by the Case libraries. Academic Search Complete is a multi-disciplinary, full-text database with more than 5,300 full-text periodicals, including 4,400 peer-reviewed journals. In addition to full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for more than 9,300 journals and a total of 10,900 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, etc. This scholarly collection offers full text coverage of information in many areas of academic study including: archaeology, area studies, astronomy, biology, chemistry, civil engineering, electrical engineering, ethnic & multicultural studies, food science & technology, general science, geography, geology, law, mathematics, mechanical engineering, music, physics, psychology, religion & theology, women's studies, and other fields.

What's new: 

A magnifying glass icon beside a title provides a preview of the article's citation, directly from the search Result List. Users are able to hover over a result and expand it without ever leaving the List. Thumbnail images in the Result List contain the graphical content of an article, and clicking the thumbnail brings up an instant view of the full-sized image content.

Panels on either side of the Result List allows a researcher to refine searches. In the left-hand column, users may select Source Type, Subject, Author or Journal as ways to pare down results. In the right-hand column, users have access to a date-range slide bar, full text, scholarly (peer-reviewed) and other database limiters.

A Search Options link allows users to choose among several search modes and available limiters for refining search results. A new search option called SmartText Searching allows users to move beyond keyword searching and paste large amounts of text into a search box. With this additional type of search, the system analyzes each word in the query for how unique it is; a weight is applied to each word and a search is initiated using those weights as relevancy controls.

A Cite button displays all the possible citation formats for a given article. The How to Cite feature was a direct result of on-campus testing. In addition, a Find More Like This link was replaced with links to actual Related Articles after testing indicated that the articles themselves would be more effective than a link.

To view all updates visit: Academic Search Complete

 

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Research Tools FAQ

How Do I get started if I don't have a topic?
Academic Search Premier provides full text journal coverage for nearly all academic areas of study.
How do I decide between Databases & the Internet?
Check out this issue over at OhioLINK.
How do I find popular articles from Magazines or Newspapers?
Check out this issue over at OhioLINK.
How do I find scholarly articles from academic journals?
Check out this issue over at OhioLINK.
How do I choose a database?
Check out this issue over at OhioLINK.
How do I properly credit sources in my research paper?
Check out our Citation Guides page.
What are Electronic Resources?
Electronic resources are generally considered to be Internet-based or online versions of print journals, newspapers, magazines, books, manuals, and other materials. It should be noted that some journals and databases are now published in electronic format only. This trend is expected to continue.
What are electronic or ejournals?

An electronic journal (ejournal, e-journal, ej, etc.) is a digitized or online version of a printed journal, such as the Physical Review A. Like most ejournals, this journal exists in both print and electronic formats. Collectively, the Case libraries provide access to thousands of electronic journals. This includes journals that are licensed independently by the Case libraries, journals in the OhioLINK Electronic Journal Center, and a select number of journals that are freely available over the World Wide Web.

Users should be aware that many titles licensed by Case are not accessible from the OhioLINK EJC. An example of this is Science Online, the Web version of Science Magazine.

What are research databases?

A database is a collection of information organized into a particular format. Every item in a database has its own record and each of these records is itself divided into specific fields of information (e.g., author, title, etc.) In this respect, a telephone book can be defined as a database.

An electronic research database is a computerized collection of information in digital format. The Case libraries provide access to several hundred research databases, many of which include the full text of journal and newspaper articles. View Research Databases for a complete list of databases provided by the Case Libraries.

Users should be aware that several titles subscribed by Case are not accessible from the OhioLINK Research Databases list. An example of this is IEEE Xplore. IEEE Xplore provides full text access to IEEE transactions, journals, magazines and conference proceedings published since 1988 and all current IEEE standards.

How do I access the Databases from Home?

If you are a student, faculty, or staff at Case, you may access the databases with software-free remote authentication to OhioLINK electronic databases and journals. When you're away from your own computer or away from campus, logon to OhioLINK and choose a database or electronic journal.

You'll be prompted to enter Case as your school, your name and Case Account Number (your SS# is no longer used), and your library PIN

For current Case enrolled and employed individuals, it's a simple way to have 2 hours of remote access to OhioLINK-only electronic content, and you can reconnect as often as you need to use the reources! Use any computer with a current web-browsr. (Remote authentication to Case-only resources requires VPN software on your computer.) Use PIN authentication for OhioLINK-only resources across the U.S. and around the world!

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