Why would I use Academic Search Premier?
I would use Academic Search Premier if I needed to find actual articles (we call that full text) from either scholarly (peer-reviewed or refereed journals) or non-scholarly (newspapers, magazines) sources. Articles in Academic Search Premier were published from 1984 to the present and cover a wide range of subjects, from art to mathematics to zoology. Some of the articles in Academic Search Premier are not full text; the articles that are not full text only have information such as article title and author (e.g., John Doe), source name (e.g., Time Magazine), volume, issue, date, and abstract (i.e., a summary of the article).
You (click here for a definition of "you") can access Academic Search Premier anywhere you have a computer and an Internet connection. For more information about finding articles, please visit http://www.lib.ua.edu/findarticles.htm.
How do I start?
1. Go to the Libraries' web site at http://www.lib.ua.edu and click on "Databases" under the "Search Menu." The Libraries' web site is your starting place for research. Once at the Databases screen, you'll see an alphabetical list. You would simply go to the 'A' section and scroll down to Academic Search Premier. |
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How do I search?
Once you click on the Academic Search Premier link from the Database page, you'll see a screen and a search box:
To search effectively:
- Connect keywords with AND, OR, NOT. For more information about AND, OR, NOT, see our short tutorial on Boolean Operators (You will need the Macromedia Flash Player to see this tutorial.)
- Children AND music finds articles that contain both the words children and music.
- Automobile OR car finds articles that contain either of the words automobile or car.
- Sports NOT football finds articles that contain the word sports but not the word football.
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Put phrases in quotation marks to force the database
to find words in an exact order.
- "Baseball Hall of Fame" finds articles that contain this exact phrase.
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Use truncation to find many forms of a word with
one root. The truncation symbol in Academic Search Premier and other
EBSCOhost databases is an asterisk.
For more information about truncation, see our short tutorial on Truncation (You
will
need the Macromedia
Flash Player to see this tutorial.)
- swim* will find swim, swimmer, swimmers, swimming.
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Limit your search based on specific criteria, such
as scholarly or peer reviewed journals.
- At the bottom of the search screen, underneath the search box where you enter your terms, you can set a variety of limits:
How can I get the actual article?
Your results from a search will look similar to the following three citations. If your article is available full text from Academic Search Premier, you will have one of three possible buttons: HMTL Full Text, PDF Full Text, or Linked Full Text.
Full Text Options: One-stop shopping |
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HTML Full Text: generally contains no images; click "HTML full text" to see example |
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PDF Full Text: an electronic duplication of the print, contains images; click "PDF Ffull Text" to see example |
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Linked Full Text: full text located in another EBSCO database or elsewhere; may either by HTML or PDF; click "Linked Full Text" too see example |
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If you do not see a full text button (HTML, PDF, or Linked Full Text), you will see a "Check for journal holdings" button. See the diagram below for an explanation.
Check for Journal Holdings: Two-stop shopping |
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The database will give you the necessary information
to determine
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See our short tutorial on how to check the UA Libraries' Catalog.
How do I print, save or email the article?
You can print, save or email an article and/or citation. Here are a couple of useful tips.
General Tips |
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Always use the internal print, email and save buttons; do not use your brower's print function (i.e., do not go to file > print at the top of your screen). You can either print, email or save each article separately, or you can add articles to a electronic folder and print, email or save everything at once. |
Tips for PDF Full Text |
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Printing, saving, or emailing PDF full text is a bit different than printing, saving, or emailing HTML full text. To print or save PDF full text, use the save and print functions within the Adobe Acrobat reader. Always use the internal print and save buttons; do not use your brower's print function (i.e., do not go to file > print at the top of your screen). To email the PDF full text, use the email button above the Adobe Acrobat reader; do not use the email function within the Adobe Acrobat reader (crossed out with a red "X" in the image above). You can also add PDF full text to your folder and print, save, or email it along with other articles at one time. |