Database Features
Databases produced by different companies might look quite different from each other. However there are some features that are common across all databases. Here are some of the most useful:
Filters
Filters help you narrow your results in various ways. They can help shrink your results list to a more manageable size by excluding sources that aren't what you're looking for. Some of the most common filters are:
- Date: enables you to get results only from certain years
- Source or Document Type: enables you to get only scholarly articles, books, newspaper articles, etc. - options vary across databases
- Full Text: when selected, this option shows you only results that you can access the full text of immediately
Filter options are almost always located along the left side of a screen of search results. Here is what the filters in 2 databases look like, first the newspaper database US Major Dailies and second Academic Search Premier:
Sort Options
Most databases present search results sorted by Relevance as the default. Relevance sort order tries to put the articles that most closely match your search terms at the top of this list. Most of the time this is exactly what we want. But there are other ways to sort results.
Here are the sort options in two databases, first Opposing Viewpoints and then in Web of Science:
A "newest" sort puts the newest articles at the top of the results list - helpful when you only want to find out what's new. A "citation" sort can put the articles with the most citations at the top of the results list. Articles with that many other authors have cited are likely to be important in the field.
Advanced Search
We've designed EBSCO databases to default to an Advanced Search screen, with three search fields available for you to use to combine search terms. Other databases, such as Opposing Viewpoints in Context, will make you look for the Advanced Search. Advanced Search can be helpful when combining groups of search terms.
Here is what Advanced Search looks like in the Opposing Viewpoints database:
Ready-Made Citations
One feature that nearly all databases contain are ready-made, auto-generated citations. After clicking on a resource in a search result, you'll find there is almost always a button or icon to "cite".
Advantage:
- The information required for the citation, such as author, date, title, and publication information, is presented in the correct order with abbreviations as appropriate, and almost always with the correct punctuation and formatting (such as italics).
Disadvantages:
- Computers are not great at understanding what should be capitalized in a citation. Capitalization is the most common error among citations provided by databases.
- The citation might include inadequate links or references to the database.
- Copy/paste can create formatting errors, such as odd highlighting, or removal of italics.
Upshot:
Auto-generated citations from databases can be helpful, but you will need to review them, checking against the appropriate citation rules. If you are citing several sources for one project, you are likely better served by a simple citation manager such as ZoteroBib.
Challenge!
Part 1: Choose a database from the list below and type in a search term for any topic that interests you.
Academic Search Premier
JSTOR
US Major Dailies
Web of Science
- On the results page, look at the filter options next to your results list. Use the filter options to get a list of results that only includes articles from the last five years.
- Use the database's citation tool to generate a citation to an article of your choosing from the last 5 years. Paste this article citation into your Database Challenge Worksheet.
Part 2: Try a search on a different topic in the same database.
- On the results page, change the sort order so that the oldest articles appear first in your results list.
- What is the date of the oldest article the database has on your topic?
- Do you think there are articles that are even older than what you found in this database? What does this tell you about what is included and not included in this database?