Electronic databases vs. print databases

For older years of journals and other publications, you may be limited to using a print index. For newer years, often the information is available as an electronic database either in addition to the print format, or only available electronically. Currently UA Libraries subscribes to over 280 electronic databases, and over 45 databases are related specifically to science, engineering, and nursing. Many of the other databases include sciences and engineering.

General subject databases

Some databases index a variety of publications: newspapers, current events magazines such as Time, Newsweek, and American Scientist, along with selected publications in academic fields. This may include publications from the sciences and technical fields such as International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Journal of Cleaner Production, Journal of Materials Processing Technology, Ecologist, and IEEE Transactions on Magnetics. Examples of general subject databases available from the UA Libraries are Academic Search Premier (from EBSCOHost) and Research Library Complete (from Proquest).

Sample citation from Academic Search Premier database
  Interpreting the citation

Types of searches

If you are searching for articles on the design of tires, you can identify some articles on this subject in a general index such as Academic Search Premier. Notice that you may find articles that are more news-oriented than technical, you may not find the articles to have as much technical detail as you need, or you may not find enough information on a technical topic in a general subject database. Later when we look at databases for science and engineering, you will be able to compare the search results.

1) Keyword search (Basic Search)

In Basic Search Mode, click on the green button labeled Keyword in the Academic Search Premier database. You can search the phrase HYBRID CAR, or your can search the Boolean combination HYBRID AND CAR. Which search gives you the most references? Is one search better than another?

2) Subjects search (Basic Search)

In Basic Search Mode, click on the green button labeled "Subject terms". In the second box down the page, labeled "Browse For", type in the word HYBRID CAR.

You will see the following:   

The term hybrid car would appear here had there been an exact match

   []  HYBRID cars Use HYBRID electric cars
   []  HYBRID cinema
   []  HYBRID computer simulation
   []  HYBRID computers
   []  HYBRID computers -- Programming
   []  HYBRID corn
   []  HYBRID drive vehicles Use HYBRID electric vehicles
   []  HYBRID electric cars
   []  HYBRID electric vehicles
   []  HYBRID ferns
   []  HYBRID fuel rockets Use HYBRID propellant rockets
   []  HYBRID integrated circuits
   []  HYBRID integrated circuits industry
   []  HYBRID languages Use LANGUAGES, Mixed; PIDGIN languages
   []  HYBRID laser arc welding Use LASER arc welding
   []  HYBRID power
   []  HYBRID power plants, Geothermal-coal Use GEOTHERMAL-coal hybrid power plants
   []  HYBRID power systems
   []  HYBRID propellant rockets
   []  HYBRID rice

Put a check in the box to the left of HYBRID ELECTRIC CARS, and put a check in the box to the left of HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLES. Leave "OR" in the box labeled "Select term, then add to search using:", then click ADD.

You get the following search:
DE "HYBRID electric cars" or DE "HYBRID electric vehicles".
Click the SEARCH button to the right of this.

Obtaining help onscreen
• In Basic search for brief search help, click on Search tips, located just to the right and below the search box: Search tips for Keyword, and Search tips for subject.

• For more help, click on the Help link, located in second position from the right corner of the screen.

Obtaining a full text print article (if available)

If the full text of an article is available in the database, you will have a choice of one or two "paper" icons: one labeled "full Text" and one labeled "PDF Full text". The "PDF Full text" will look more like the article in the printed version of the journal and may be easier to read in print, however it will generally be more difficult to read onscreen.

Print, e-mail, or save search results

To print e-mail or save a result, you add it to your "folder", by clicking the folder to the right of the title. When you have chosen all titles you are interested in, click view folder at the top, mid right of the screen.

At this point, there is a list of delivery options: print, e-mail, or save. Choose the one you want. You may choose the format of citations and abstracts, or you may choose the format with the full text of the articles (if it are available in the database). The full text is available for only some of the publications.