Tutorials

Hello! In this video tutorial, we will learn how to find and read articles through the library database Academic Search Complete.

Library databases are subscription services that provide access to articles, eBooks, and multimedia. To access library databases, click the Databases button on the library website.

The A-Z Databases list includes links to all databases that the Tyree Library subscribes to. Academic Search Complete is the first database listed in the Recommended Databases area on the left. This database is a good starting point to find full-text journal, magazine, and newspaper articles, since it includes a broad range of topics. To access this database, click its title.

If prompted to log in, type your SF ID number @sfcollege.edu. On the next screen, enter your college password. You might not see this screen if you are logged into Office 365 elsewhere.

The default search in Academic Search Complete is an advanced search, which provides three search boxes. When searching in databases, it's best to identify the main concepts from your research question or thesis. For instance, let's say you are researching how social media affects mental health. The first main concept in this topic is social media, so type that in the first search box. The second main concept is mental health, so type that in the second search box. By breaking your topic or research question into main concepts, you will receive more relevant results. You do not need to use all three search boxes.

The main search screen also includes a Filters area below the search boxes to limit your search. The Full Text box should already be checked by default, which means all search results will have the full text immediately available. To limit your search to peer-reviewed articles, check the Peer Reviewed box. Peer reviewed means that it has undergone a review process by other experts in a field before being published and should be used if you need scholarly or academic articles. You can also use the Publication Date filter to limit your results to articles from a specific time period.

Once you have typed your search terms and applied any desired filters, click the Search button.

All matching articles in this database appear on the search results screen. The first line below the search box allows you to quickly apply common filters like peer reviewed, the publication date, and source type. You can also click All filters to see more options to limit your search.

For example, my first search result is in Spanish. I can use All filters to limit the language of my results to articles in English.

The number of search results is listed below the filters bar. The more filters you add, the less results you will receive. You can also change the way your results are sorted, using the button in the upper right of the search results. By default, articles are sorted by Relevance, which means the database decides which articles match your search best. You can change this to Date newest, with the newest articles first, or Date oldest.

Text headers above each search result indicate the type of source each article is from. Common source types are Academic Journal, Magazine (which has the header Periodical), Trade Publication, and Newspaper. Peer reviewed articles have a gold check icon in this text header.

The title of the article is listed after the text header. You can click it to learn more about the article. Below the title is a line with the author(s), source, and date. This article was published in the Journal of American College Health.

Below the source line, the first few sentences of the abstract appear with the option to show more. An abstract is a summary of the article and can be helpful in determining if an article is relevant to your research. Not all articles include an abstract.

Below the abstract is a list of Subjects that describe the main concepts of the article. These are official terms used by the database and can be used to improve your search results.

The last option is a button with links to the full text of the article. Articles are usually available in PDF or online full text. If the button says Access options, then both formats are available. You can also click the title of the article for more information.

Clicking the title leads to the detailed record, which includes additional information beyond the basic information found on the search results page.

The Source area provides the full publication information about the article, including the volume, issue, and page numbers.

Some articles include author-supplied keywords, which is how the author describes the content of the article.

Now, look at the Access options to view the full text of the article.

This is the PDF full text of the article.

The headphone icon in the upper right allows you to listen to the article. There is also an accessibility icon which allows you to request a file in an accessible Word or HTML format from the database. It might take a few days to receive the file.

Both the bookmark and folder option for saving an article requires a myEBSCO account. If you do not have an account or are not signed in, these items will only be saved until you leave the database.

Click the MyEBSCO link in the upper right of most screens to create and sign into your myEBSCO account.

Once you have signed into your myEBSCO account, articles you save are accessible under My dashboard, in the Saved area.

The folder icon allows you create projects, where you can track articles from different assignments, classes, or topics. You can create a new project or add an article to an existing project.

Your saved projects are also available in the My dashboard area.

Returning to the full text of the article, click the second icon, which looks like a quotation mark, for help with citations. This tool provides generated citations in a variety of citation styles. Change the drop-down box to choose your citation style, which include APA, MLA, and Chicago. You should double-check all citations, as there may be errors with capitalization or punctuation.

The fourth icon, which looks like an arrow swooping up and right, provides options to Share the article. Options include saving directly to Google Drive or OneDrive, copying a link to the article, or emailing the article.

Articles can be sent to any email address. The full text will be included as an attachment.

The other option to read articles is online full text. This is presented as one continuous page and may omit photographs. The same options to save and share the article are available.

One additional icon for articles with online full text is the translate option, which uses a computer program to translate articles into other languages.

If the Full Text filter is not turned on when searching, you may see results with a Find it @ SF link. This means the full text is not available in this database. Clicking that link will take you to a tool that will look for the full text in other databases.

The full text of this article is available in the SpringerLink database.

If no database has the full text, you will see a page with a How to get it area. Click Sign in and sign in with your Office 365 account.

Click the Interlibrary Loan Request link and fill out your contact information. Library staff will locate the article and send you a copy. This process is usually free, but please be aware that it can take a week or two.

If you would like to return to your search later, you can save your search to your projects. On the search results page, click the three-dot icon above the first search result, and then Save search.

Your exact search, with all limits and filters, is now available in the Saved area of your dashboard. Saved searches are only stored for the current session unless you are logged into your myEBSCO account.

This concludes the video tutorial on using Academic Search Complete. If you'd like to learn more or need assistance, a librarian would be happy to help.

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