USING ELECTRONIC DATABASES

Ebsco

A. Overview
B. Accessing Ebsco
C. Using Ebsco
D. Disconnecting from Ebsco

One of the many companies which provides an online databases service is Ebsco. The Ebsco Company provides access to a number of databases that offer articles on a variety of subjects. Each of these databases use the same commands and look alike, but the lists of magazines and journals available varies from database to database. HCC gets these databases through a subscription, so while access is available to all students, off campus users will need passwords to access the Ebsco products.

Among the many databases available through Ebsco, some of the most commonly used are:

· Academic Search Premier—offers full-text articles from 3,288 national periodicals including magazines, newspapers, and journals. Articles cover all possible topics.

· Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition—offers full-text articles from 540 national periodicals that focus on nursing, health, and related medical subjects.

· Business Source Premier—offers full-text articles from over 2,470 national periodicals that focus on business issues.

[Please note that Ebsco offers many more databases. Those listed above are just those that students have found to be particularly useful.]

Accessing Ebsco

Each of these databases is available through any computer that has an HCC IP address. In other words, you may access Ebsco from any computer on the Henderson Community College main campus.

Your first step is to go to the “Library Services” web page. On this page, move the cursor to the “Ebsco” button found underneath the heading, "Full-text Databases." Click the left button of the mouse.
If you are an "off-campus" student in Henderson, Union or Webster Counties, you may access the Ebsco database by obtaining the necessary USERID and PASSWORD from the library's reference desk and applying it when requested by the software. This information is free after it has been verified that you are an enrolled student at HCC. Your home personal computer or public library computer must be connected to the Internet to access Ebsco, and you must go to the HCC library's web page before activating the Ebsco icon. Off-Campus users may gain assistance with this process by calling the library's reference desk at (270) 831-9767, or by sending an email to the Reference Librarian.
Once you have accessed the main Ebsco page, you will see a list of the following "gateways" to the databases.

Choose “EBSCOhost Web” (this is the top choice on the column offered). Click on the words "EBSCOhost Web."

The list of databases offered by Ebsco will display. Choose an individual database by going through the list until you find the desired database and then left click on the title of the database. Ebsco offers these numerous databases because many specialize on certain subjects. For example, Health Source: Academic Edition has many articles on nursing and medicine taken from nursing journals. A sample listing of the databases has been provided below.
If you want to search through multiple databases, click in the box located next to the database title for each database desired.

Using Ebsco

Ebsco uses standard Windows tools. If you are unfamiliar with these, please ask the library staff for assistance. To navigate, move your cursor with the mouse. Whenever the cursor turns into a hand, you click the left the button of the mouse and that command is activated. The progress of your commands will be monitored at the bottom of your screen, and the tools and icons on the top of the screen are active. To print, for example, move the cursor to the “Print” icon and left click on your mouse. To go back a step, activate the “Back” button.
Ebsco commands work on all of the databases.
Once you have selected a database, a search screen appears. Type your search term(s) in the search box underneath the heading, "Find." Click on the “Search” button. An example of the search screen has been provided below.
A list of articles will display on the screen. If there are more than ten articles Ebsco will display them on multiple screens. Use the forward arrow or back arrow located at the top and bottom of the Ebsco display to go between these screens. Look through these articles to find the article or articles desired. Each article is listed as a citation. If an icon reading “HTML Full Text” or “PDF Full Text” appears in the citation, then the full text of the article is available. If no such icon appears, then this database has only the abstract (short description) of the article. An example of listed articles is provided below.
To see the abstract and subject headings for any article, click on the title of the article.
If the article is available full-text, click on the “HTML Full Text” icon and the article will display on the screen.
If the article is available in “PDF Full Text,” click on the “PDF Full Text” icon to display the article. Please note that in order to show the full image, Ebsco will activate the “Adobe Acrobat Reader” software. This software is a bit slow, so do not be surprised if a long article takes a while to show up on the screen.

*For assistance with printing a PDF Full Text article, please ask the library staff.
After activating an article and retrieving the text, the subject headings for each article will be displayed in blue. If you click the cursor on any subject heading, Ebsco will automatically activate a search for all articles in the systems that have that subject heading. Note that the location of the subject headings are provided before the full-text of the article is displayed. Please note that the subject headings are listed only when you click on the article's title. The "Full Text" icons will not show subject headings. An example is as follows:
Click on the “Back” icon to go back a step. Click “Back” once for each step needed.

To print/email/save an article click on the appropriate "print" or "email" or "save" icon. These icons can be found at the top or bottom of the page. If an article is displayed with the "PDF Full Text" icon, then to print, you must use the printer icon located on the actual PDF image - not the tool bar "print" icon located at the top of your screen.

Disconnecting from Ebsco

When finished, click on the “Home” icon. This will disconnect you and return the screen to the Library web page.