FAQs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
 What are electronic databases?

  • An electronic database is an organised list of published information sources (usually journal articles), either giving directions (a citation) to where you can find the full information or containing the information itself (full-text databases).
  • Each information source has an individual record. Each record is made up of fields. Each field contains a different piece of information about the source. The database searches for information contained in these fields
  • Databases do not all function in the same way, but the same basic skills and knowledge will allow you to use most databases.

What is a journal article?

  • Researchers and scholars publish their research as articles (or papers) in journals. These articles are published to disseminate knowledge to other scholars, scientists or experts in a subject area. Journal articles tend to be shorter, more current and focused on more specific topics than books. By reading the published journal literature in their field of study scholars keep up to date with the latest research findings. Journal literature presents a range of viewpoints on a topic and possibly contradictory research results.
  • Journals are published periodically and may also be known as periodicals or serials. Magazines, trade journals and newspapers are also periodicals but do not publish scholarly articles. Scholarly articles are published in scholarly journals. Peer-reviewed or refereed articles are published in peer-reviewed or refereed journals.

What are "scholarly", "refereed" or "peer-reviewed" publications?

  • "Scholarly" publications are usually written by academics and mainly for an academic audience, they are often published by a recognized body or society, and they usually do not have a glossy appearance.
  • In "peer-reviewed" or "refereed" publications, the articles are approved by a body of peers (i.e. experts in the same subject field as the authors) before they are published - this helps to ensure that they are of a high standard. Articles from non-refereed journals may also meet the same standards, but no body of peers has reviewed or approved the articles.
  • Most scholarly publications are peer-reviewed.
  • In some databases you will be able to limit (i.e. narrow) your search to articles that are peer-reviewed or refereed.
  • In other databases you will need to look at the search help or tips screens to find out if the journals indexed by the database are peer-reviewed (refereed) or not.
  • You can also find out if a journal is refereed or not in Ulrich's Periodicals Directory.

Searching for articles

While journal titles are listed in the ECU Library Catalogue individual articles from journals are not (with the exception of articles, included in e-reserve). As a general rule, however, you will be searching for articles within the journals. Finding and locating journal articles can be divided into two main processes.

  • Find relevant article citations or references
  • Use these references to locate the actual article

Finding relevant article citations or references

The easiest and most common way of locating useful articles is to use a database (also known as a bibliographic database, citation database or index). Databases are generally subject specific - they index the journal articles from the major and minor journals (or a sub-set of) in their particular field. They may cover Australian and/or International journals.

In general, databases do not provide you with the full-text of the articles they index (although this is changing). Instead, databases provide the reference details for the articles (e.g. the title, author, details of the journal in which the article appears and possibly an abstract) which you then use to locate the article. This has the advantage of enabling you to get a full overview of the types of journal articles being published in your area of interest. The major disadvantage is that the Library will not have access to all of the journals indexed by the database and hence not all articles will be available.

Newspapers held in the Library

To find if the Library subscribes to a particular newspaper do a title search in the catalogue by newspaper name. This will tell you which years the Library. It will also show whether the newspaper articles are available electronically through databases to which the ECU Library subscribes.

To search for newspaper articles online, several databases can be used:

SmartBix (formerly called ABIX) and APA Fulltext  cover Australian newspapers. For all other countries (including Australia), the database 'Factiva' can be used.
Factiva.com provides access to over 8000 sources including global and local newspapers, journals and magazines, newswires, websites in more than 20 languages, company reports, and pictures.

Database Searching Hints

  • To improve results, use AND, OR, NOT between search terms.
  • Expand words or phrases with truncation.
  • If unsure of name or international spelling, check the Also search for related words box.
  • Use quotation marks to define a phrase.
  • Use the Indexes to choose useful new and related search terms. Enter your search term to display options. Click in the box next to the required term, set the link operator to AND, OR, NOT, then click the Add button.
  • You may also be able to  convert into another language

Command

Example

Description

And

&

Television and Journalist
Television & Journalist
Television Journalist

Keywords separated by ‘and’, ‘&’, or a space will return ads containing both words. Ads with only one of these words will not be displayed.

Or

,

Television or Journalist

Keywords separated by a comma or 'or' will return all ads with containing either the word 'Television' OR 'Journalist'.

Not

Journalist not Magazine

Keywords separated by 'not' exclude ads containing the specified word.

"__"

"Television Journalist"

Keywords with quotation marks around them will return ads where the words appear together.

( )

(Project Manager or Product Manager) not Technical.

Use brackets to search for subsets of words when also using other words.

*

Tele*

Returns ads containing words staring with Tele. Example: Television, Telephone, Telesales and Telemarketing.

Selecting the right database

  • The easiest way to determine which databases are likely to be useful is to go to the databases section of the website. Here you can access "databases by subject" pages which list the most relevant databases for a subject (you can also view the entire range of databases ordered alphabetically by title or access the databases by provider). Many of the databases are available both on and off campus. You can also search for database titles on the catalogue.
  • Specialist assistance with choosing a database can be obtained by consulting one of our friendly Librarians.

Can I search several databases at once?
What is  MetaQuest?

MetaQuest is a portal that enables access to ECU's online collections.

With MetaQuest you can conduct a "MetaSearch" across a range of resources using a single search interface. You can also link directly to the resources' native interface.

MetaQuest can search up to 10 resources simultaneously, including library catalogues and databases, then link to fulltext where available. Fulltext linking is done using "SFX Find it" interlinking technology. Interlinking maps together fulltext resources from a wide range of service providers making it possible to link search results with the full article.

Databases in MetaQuest are grouped together by subject categories relevant to courses at ECU, but you can also create your own list of preferred resources. MetaQuest allows you to construct alerts to run searches for you.

What is inDOOR?

InDOOR is an alternative to MetaQuest as a means of accessing the Library databases. The databases are listed by title and broad subject areas, such as computer science, management, nursing etc.

What is SFX?

SFX is the brand name of the software which sits behind the Find It or the SFX Article Locator.  The Find It icon can usually be seen in database results lists next to citations.  As long as the citation has a book title, journal title, ISSN or ISBN, the SFX software will generate a link from the citation to the relevant journal article or book.  A click on the Go icon will link you to the relevant material.

Several options are listed when the Find Iticon or  SFX Article Locator is used:
-  Links to any online materials are listed if available.
-  Next are links to the ECU library catalogue & other WA catalogues,  as the material may only be available in print.
-  A link to EndNote is available if the citation contains enough details to make the download feasible.
-  A link to the Web of Science (WOS) database appears only if the journal title is indexed by the WOS.  This is of interest to researchers as the WOS & is a very useful tool in tracking research (shows articles which have quoted an original article + other research tools).
-  A link to ECU VDX if you wish to order the article if it is unavailable at ECU (only for eligible patrons)
-  A link to Ulrichs Periodicals Dirctory to check a journal publication details (includes a check on whether the title is peer-reviewed).

How do I keep up-to-date with information in my area of interest?

To keep up-to-date with information in your area, use the sign-in/register option in your most commonly used database.   This will allow you to save your searches and sign-up for email alerts to be sent to you. Click here for more information,

Can I access the library databases from home?

All online databases are available off campus but because your PC is not operating within the ECU vicinity additional authentication is required. See Authenticating to Library Resources http://www.ecu.edu.au/library/system/authentication.html


 
 
Ask Us  Feedback