Getting Started
Welcome to the Database Skills Tutorial Series.
This tutorial will teach you about using the Library Literature and Information Science Full Text database.
This "Guide on the Side" tutorial allows you to continue to use the library websites while also following along with the tutorial.
Note: If you are off campus, you may be asked for your Pirate ID and passphrase to log in to the database.
The tutorial will take approximately 10 minutes.
Click the right arrow at the bottom of this pane to proceed.
Navigation
Before we begin, please take note of the following navigation buttons that you will see in the Guide on the Side panel:
Your Turn: This button represents an opportunity to use the database during the tutorial, so please follow the directions.
Ask Us: Click this to be connected with a librarian via IM when the Research Desk is open.
Let's get started!
"Can video game events be effectively used in a library for outreach?"
Let's say the paper requirements say that you need at least 4 scholarly sources.
You can find scholarly sources in a database, but what is that?
You can find articles by searching in a database. A database is a searchable collection of information. Examples of everyday databases include your iTunes library and IMDB, the Internet Movie Database. A library database contains scholarly journal articles, newspapers, magazine articles, trade journals, and sometimes book chapters.
The database we are searching in this tutorial is Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts (LISTA). This is a subject-specific database, which means it is limited to one field of study: Library and Information Science.
Recall that our sample topic is using video game events for library outreach and that one step we must complete is to develop keywords.
Your Turn! Take your research question, "Can video game events be effectively used in a library for outreach?" and decide which keywords and Boolean operators might be best for your search. Click the Answer link below to see the search phrase we will be using.
Answer
To learn more about Boolean operators and keywords, please visit our Graduate 101 tutorial.
Your Turn! Recall that your keywords are video games AND libraries. Place these in to the search box and click search to see the results.
Notice that on the left side, you will see check boxes for the following:
Your Turn! Click on the scholarly check box. Notice the results list getting shorter. Next, change the date range to the last 5 years. Notice that the results list gets shorter again.
The Full Text option allows you to see only the items with the whole article attached. If the whole article is not available as a PDF, many times, if you click the purple Find It! button, you will see that ECU Libraries do, in fact, have the full text in another database or journal. If we do not have an article, we can normally get it for you via Interlibrary Loan. This free service can be used to borrow an article or book from another library that does have it.
Your Turn! Hover over a few of the titles in the list to see their abstracts. Which would you consider using for your paper?
Next, notice the icon that says Add to Folder. If you would like to save an article for use in your research, you can add it to the folder. The folder is a temporary space to hold articles.
Your Turn! Add 4 articles to the folder by clicking on Add to Folder.
Your Turn! Scroll to the top of the screen to access the folder. Click the folder and notice that on the right there is the option to Email.
Once you have accessed the Email option, you can do the following:
Next Steps: If you wish to complete this tutorial again with your own topic, you may start over by clicking Back Home.
Please enter your name and email address to retrieve a copy of your completed quiz.
You can enter multiple email addresses separated by commas. If you are doing this for a class, you may need to enter your instructor's email address also.