Chances are, if you’ve used a library database, you’ve used one of the EBSCO databases.  Some of the databases provided by the vendor EBSCO are available to Indiana residents through Inspire, and Ohio residents through OhioLink. At IU East, a third of our full-text journals are available through the EBSCO interface.  In 2010, IU East students, faculty, and staff searched an EBSCO database 114,240 times, retrieving 102,280 full-text articles.

EBSCO provides general search databases like MasterFile and Academic Search Premier.  They also have specialized databases.  For example, if you’re working on a health topic, you could use MedLine, CINAHL, and Health Source.  A criminal justice paper?  PsycInfo and SocIndex will work well for you.  Economics?  Try Business Source Premier.  Education?  ERIC and Professional Development Collection are always good, and Middle Search or Primary Search can work depending on the grade level you’re interested in.

EBSCO has features that can save you time and ease frustration while searching for information appropriate for your academic needs. You can:

• search any or all EBSCO databases simultaneously
• use “limiters” to retrieve articles that meet criteria such as only full-text, only peer reviewed, or a specific date range
• click on the title of an article in your results list and read the abstract – this brief summary can help you decide if the article is relevant for your research
• save, email, or print your articles
• Click on the ‘Cite’ link on the left hand side of the screen for an automatic, pre-generated citation list

For more tips and strategies to use the EBSCO databases or any other online library resources, we’re here to help!  In person, or 765-973-8279 or iueref@iue.edu or facebook.com/iuelibrary