Handout 3 - Online Periodical Databases

Go to the Periodical Databases link on the library's home page and select a database to search (see Databases by Type and Subject for a list of databases grouped by type and subject). Click on the letter that begins the database name at "Databases by Name" (1st alphabetical list), and then click the database name link. If you are on campus, the database will open to the search screen. From off campus, type your ENMU ID number at the remote authentication screen to open the database. Certain specialty databases will open to an intermediary screen that displays an additional username and password logon required by the vendor, before you reach the database. Write down the username and password, as shown, click the database name link, and enter the username and password.

Databases below are grouped by vendor-publisher: the instructions, search screens and features, and the manner of retrieval is the same for all databases published by the same vendor. Scroll down to choose the databases you wish to use, then return here for the instructions and tips. View the demonstrations for databases at the Demonstrations section.

Instructions for searching EBSCOhost databases:

  • Academic Search Premier (multidisciplinary, considerable full text)
  • Business Source Complete (business, full text)
  • CINAHL Plus (nursing, full text)
  • Computers & Applied Sciences Complete (computers, engineering, technology; full text)
  • Education Research Complete (education, full text)
  • Environment Complete (ecology, energy, environmental, urban planning; full text)
  • History Reference Center (history, full text)
  • Literary Reference Center (literature, full text)
  • MLA (literature, limited full text)
  • PsycINFO (psychology, limited full text)
  • GeoRef (geology, geography; limited full text)
  • Agricola (agriculture, considerable full text)
  • Teacher Reference Center (education, considerable full text)
Type your search term in the box; add quotation marks around your search term for an exact match. You may limit your search by full text, scholarly, date, publication title and type, document type, etc. Click the Search button. If you see a lot of results, you may want to click a subject heading shown on the left-hand sidebar, if applicable, to narrow your search, e.g., Source Type or Subject. You could also go back and alter your search expression to narrow your topic. Click on any HTML or PDF links to view full-text articles. If your search returns few useful entries, try clicking the "Subject Terms" link along the green menu bar for a list of preferred terms the database likes (click the link and enter your search term—it will give you alternatives or synonyms you can try instead). You may print, email, save, or export your citations. With EBSCOhost databases, you can save your citations in your preferred bibliographic citation style (MLA, APA, etc.) by clicking the orange paper icon. Print citations for any non-full-text articles and check the Full-Text Online Journals.

Instructions for searching the ERIC database (education, limited full text)
Click on the Advanced Search link and type your search term in the box. Limit your date and document type (journal articles, ERIC documents, or all). Click on any View Full Text links on the bottom left for full-text material (the red Adobe A must be visible for full text). There are no full-text journal articles in the ERIC database; if you print your article citations and check the Full-Text Online Journals you will find approx 80% of your articles full-text elsewhere. If your search returns few useful entries, try using the Thesaurus (link is along bottom of the page) to locate a preferred search term. You can also click on any of the descriptor links within a record to target your search. If you find some good results, but need more, do a second search using the descriptor(s) as your search term(s).

Instructions for searching Gale/InfoTrac databases (approx 90% full text)

  • Academic OneFile (multidisciplinary, scholarly)
  • General Business ASAP (business)
  • Expanded Academic ASAP (multidisciplinary, scholarly)
  • Informe (Spanish literature and culture)
  • Dictionary of Literary Biography (biography)
Type your search term in the box; surround your search expression, or parts of it, in quotation marks, for a better match. You may limit your search to peer-reviewed journals or full text. Once results are displayed, there are tabs for Academic Journals, Magazines, Newspapers, and Multimedia along the top of the screen. Full-text articles will display a Full text or PDF link. Along the right, you will see a description of the type of work displayed, e.g., article, book review, editioral, etc. Multiple retrieval options are displayed in a "Tools" box, on the right. If the article is not available in full text, print the citation and check the Full-Text Online Journals.

Instructions for searching Westlaw Campus (news, business and legal, 100% full text)

  • For News (default): type a search term in the box on the right (use quotation marks for an exact match), or select a topic from the Categories list below and enter your search term. Or, enter your search term and select one or more Publication Types from the list displayed. ALWAYS check the "identify duplicates" box to reduce the number of duplicate entries. Click on the highlighted links to view and print.
  • For legal: click on the Law tab in the upper left-hand corner, then enter your case on the left, if you know the parties, e.g., Roe v. Wade. To search by subject or keyword, enter your search term in the box on the right and select an applicable database below-you can search for journal articles, statutes, regulations, etc. Click the Go button. Click on the highlighted case names to view and print your case.

Instructions for searching Oxford-Grove Music/Art (music, art; 100% full text)
Type your keyword in the search box, or use the Search and Browse links provided. Click on links for full text.

Instructions for searching Physical Education Index (HPE, limited full text)
Type your search term in the box. Click on full-text+page icons for full text. Check the Full-Text Online Journals for non-full-text articles.

Instructions for searching Mental Measurements Yearbook (educational/psychological tests)
Click on the Mental Measurements Yearbook link and then the MMY link on the opening screen. Enter the title of your test and click on any Complete Reference links, on the left, to bring up full-text test descriptions.

Instructions for searching JSTOR (literature, history, religion, philosophy, anthropology; full text except current issues)

  • Type your search term in the box
    • use quotation marks to search for an exact phrase
      • use grouping to combine terms, e.g., "currency reform" and (russia or "soviet union")
      • use the tilde ~ (first key on upper right, next to 1 key on a PC keyboard) + a number to define the proximity of your search terms, e.g., "debt forgiveness"~10 will search for records that contain debt and forgiveness within ten words of each other (good for limiting your results when your search expression contains very common words)
  • Click the Article box to limit your search results to articles; otherwise, you will get many reviews ("Review" in the citation title line indicates that the article is a book review). You may also limit to one or several journal titles by scrolling down and opening the discipline areas.
  • Green circles with checkmarks, to the left of the citation, indicate full-text material. Click on the PDF links to view and print full-text material. Print citations for non-full-text articles and search the Full text Online Journals.

Instructions for searching CQ Researcher (current events/historical overviews, 100% full text)
Enter your term in the Search box. Look for an 85-100% relevancy rating next to the file name and click on an applicable file name link. Scroll through the full report or click the section links in the left-hand sidebar: Overview, Outlook, Special Focus, Pro/Con, Chronology, etc. Print any useful information and click the Cite Now link to obtain your desired citation style.

Instructions for searching the FirstSearch databases:

  • OmniFile/WilsonSelectPlus (multidisciplinary, 100% full text)
    Enter your search term in the box and select any limits. Look for HTML or PDF Full Text links for full-text online.
  • WorldCat (monographs only-books, videos, CDs/DVDs-citations only)
    In WorldCat (direct link on the library home page), enter your search term in the box and select any limits. You may change the keyword default to author, title, etc., at the drop-down box. Print your book/DVD citation screens and check the library's online catalog; if not available, place an ILL request.

Instructions for searching Science Direct (biology, HPE, CFS, CDIS, chemistry; some full text)
Enter your search term in the All Fields box; you may also add a journal title to the Journal box, if you wish to limit your search to a particular journal title. Click Search Science Direct. Alternatively, you may select a letter and scroll through the available titles and issues. For full-text articles, you must see a green page icon to the left of the citation. Click the PDF link to view and print an article. For non-full-text articles, print the citation and check to see if your article is available via our Full-text Online Journals.

Instructions for searching eHRAF (anthropology, 100% full text)
Click the Search tab and enter your term or cultural group. Click the "eHRAF Search" button. Click the displayed links for full-text material. Alternatively, you may click the Browse tab, select a letter and then a cultural group, and click the Cultural Summary or Collection Documents links toward the top of the screen.

Newspapers: Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Newsbank (100% full text)
Scroll down to the Newspapers section of the Periodical Databases page and click the database name link. Enter your search term in the Search box and add any date limits. Click on the full text links to access newspaper articles.

Instructions for searching PubMed/PubMed Central databases (health/medical)
Click the PubMed (provides some current full-text articles when you see the Free Full-text link) or PubMed Central (provides full text articles from earlier years) link and enter search term in the box. Click Full Text or PDF links for full-text articles on PubMed Central. For PubMed, click the Free Full Text link in the upper right, to limit your results to full-text articles only, and then click any free full text links of interest.

Full-Text Online Journals

When an article is not available full-text online in the database you are searching, you can check to see if it is available full-text online in another database:
  • go to the Periodical Databases link on the library home page
  • click on the letter that begins the journal title (from your citation) at the Full-Text Online Journals by Title alphabetical list (2nd one)
  • type your journal title in the box to see if your journal is listed. If so, check the holdings information against the date of your citation; if your date is included, click an applicable link. There are a number of different ways to look for your article:
    • you may click a year/volume/issue link and scroll through the table of contents to find your article title
    • you may need to type or copy and paste your article title in a search box
    • you may be taken to a publisher page and will click a year/volume link
If you do not see any type of full-text link, if you see a Linked Full Text link that doesn't yield full text, if you are ever asked for a username and password to view an article, or if you are asked to purchase an article, that means the article is NOT available full-text online free (do not purchase any articles, use ILL!)
  • if your journal title is not listed, or if the article you need is not available:
    • Portales campus students will need to check the library's catalog and see if we have a print subscription to the journal; if so, stop by the library and make a photocopy of your article. If not, you may place an ILL request.
    • Distance ed students may place an ILL request for anything not available full-text online and it will be sent to you
  • You may also search within a full-text online journal by doing the following:
    • click any letter in the Full-text Online Journals alphabetical list
    • click the drop-down "Please Select a Subject Category" box, highlight a subject area and click the Search button
    • click on a subject heading and then a category—this will provide lists of available journals under the specific category, e.g., say I want to look for social work journals to search...
      • click Social Sciences under the "Please Select a Subject Category" box + the Search button
      • scroll down to the "Social Welfare and Social Work" subject heading
      • click the "Child and Youth Development" category which provides 85 journals
      • scroll through till you find a journal title of interest
      • click one of the database links shown and either (depending on the database):
        • enter your search term in the box which will search through all available issues of the journal title (click any full text links for articles)
        • or, click a "Search Within This Publication" link—sometimes on the upper right or the far left of the screen; enter your search term and it will search through all available issues for your search term (click any full text links for articles)

 

Databases by Type and Subject

Legend:
F = full text
LF = limited full text
C = citation only
S = scholarly
N = non-scholarly
B = book excerpts
J = journal articles
M = magazine articles
NP = newspapers

Databases are listed alphabetically, not by importance! Databases preceded by an asterisk* are demonstrated.

Business

  • *Academic Search Premier (F, S+N, J, B)
  • *Business Source Complete (F, S+N, J+M)
  • *General Business File ASAP (F, S+N, J+M)
  • *Westlaw Campus (F, NP+J+M, news, law)

Communication

  • Academic Search Premier (F, S, J, B)
  • *Academic OneFile (F, S, J, B)
  • *ComAbstracts (under CIOS link, LF, S, J, B)
  • Comm Abstracts (LF, S, J)
  • *CQ Researcher (F, S, reports--current events, argumentative papers)
  • *Westlaw Campus (F, NP+J+M, news, broadcast transcripts, law)

Education

  • *Academic Search Premier (F, S+N, J, B)
  • *Education Research Complete (F, S+N, J, B)
  • Informe (F, S, J--Spanish culture)
  • *ERIC (LF on documents; no full-text journal articles—S+N)
  • Mental Measurements Yearbook (F, test reviews--SPED)
  • *Physical Education Index (LF, S, J)
  • *PsycInfo (LF, S, J--SPED, HPE)
  • *PubMed and PubMed Central (S, J--SPED, HPE)
  • Teacher Reference Center (F, S+N, J+M)

English/Literary

  • *Academic Search Premier (F, S, J, B)
  • *CQ Researcher (F, S, current events, public speaking, argumentative papers)
  • Informe (F, S, J)
  • *JSTOR (F, S, J)
  • *Literature Reference Center (F, S, B)
  • *MLA (LF, S, J, includes criticism, reviews)
  • *OmniFile/Wilson Select Plus (F, S+N, J, multi-disciplinary)

Fine Arts

  • *Academic Search Premier (F, S, J, B)
  • *Oxford-Grove Art (F, S, encyclopedic)
  • *Oxford-Grove Music (F, S, encyclopedic)
  • *JSTOR (F, S, J)
  • *OmniFile/WilsonSelectPlus (F, S+N, J, multi-disciplinary)

Health/Medical/Nursing/Biology/Agriculture

  • *Academic Search Premier (F, S, J; all sciences/CDIS/SPED/HPE)
  • *Agricola (F, S+N, J+M, Agriculture)
  • *CINAHL (F, S, J, Nursing)
  • *Environment Complete (F, S, J, B)
  • *Health Reference Center (F, S+N, J+M, health/nutrition)
  • Highwire Press** (F, S, J, Biology)
  • Nursing and Allied Health Collection (F, S, J, Nursing, health)
  • *PubMed/PubMed Central (LF, S, J, medical)
**This is a publisher’s journal archive useful for checking full-text availability.

Physical Sciences

  • *Academic Search Premier (F, S, J, Chemistry/Physics/Computer Science)
  • *Computers & Applied Sciences Complete (LF, S+N, J)
  • *Environment Complete (F, S, J)
  • *GeoRef (LF, S, J, Geology)
  • Highwire Press** (F, S, J, Chemistry/Computer Science)
  • *Science Direct (LF, S, J, B)
**This is a publisher’s journal archive useful for checking full-text availability.

Social Sciences

  • *Academic OneFile (F, S, J, B)
  • *Academic Search Premier (F, S, J, Anthropology/History/Sociology/Social Work/Criminal Justice)
  • *CQ Researcher (F, S, current/historical events, History/Sociology)
  • eHRAF (F, S, Anthropology)
  • *Expanded Academic ASAP (F, S+N, J, History/Sociology/Social Work/Criminal Justice)
  • *History Reference Center (F, S + N, J, B)
  • *JSTOR (F, S, J, Anthropology/History/Philosophy/Religion/Sociology/Social Work)
  • *OmniFile/WilsonSelectPlus (F, S+N, J, multi-disciplinary)
  • *PsycINFO (LF, S, J, Psychology/Sociology/Social Work)

Newspapers (F)

  • Albuquerque News-Journal
  • Newsbank
  • New York Times
  • Regional Business News
  • Wall Street Journal
  • Westlaw Campus (100s, check newspapers box on Search screen)

Reference

  • Dictionary of Literary Biography (F, S, encyclopedic)
  • *WorldCat (C, search for book and video titles)

There may be other databases you should search, depending on your topic, in addition to the ones listed in the subject categories above. If you have trouble locating enough information on your topic, ask for help.