Matt Dilworth

Matt Dilworth

Strategies for database searching

Strategies for database searching

, , Library Resources, Matt Dilworth
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?  … Continued
What We Aim to Accomplish

What We Aim to Accomplish

, , Library Resources, Matt Dilworth
Probably, at some point in your educational career, you’ve thought about what you’re working towards.  A career?  Fame and fortune?  Stability?  Goals are good. They help us accomplish what we want and need to accomplish.  The Library is committed to the goals IU East has established through the campus Learning Objectives. It makes sense – a library is place where you can into practice what you learn.  Researching.  Experimenting.  Many of our resources are geared around these specific principles of what it is that makes an educated person.  Reading.  Critical examination.  Understanding diverse opinions.  These are all core functions of research. Some of our databases, like Opposing Viewpoints in Context, do this rather dramatically.  Others are more subtle.  But these … Continued
Streamlined Reference

Streamlined Reference

Library Resources, Matt Dilworth
If you’ve visited the library recently, you know we’re always fine-tuning things here.  Our most recent change involves the reference books.  These used to be split up into two sections – reference and biography books, in two different places.  We’ve combined them into one easy-to-use collection.  Both types of books now make up the first row of shelves in the stacks.  So if you don’t see them where they used to be, don’t worry – they’re still here! While we were at it, we took the opportunity to update it into a much more streamlined, focused reference collection.  We’ve trimmed a few redundant volumes (like Something About the Author, now online), and transferred a lot to the circulating collection, so … Continued
Disappearing Statistics: Why it should matter to you and what you can do about it

Disappearing Statistics: Why it should matter to you and what you can do about it

, , books, Matt Dilworth
Some of you who have come to the library needing statistics for your research may have seen me reach for a book called Statistical Abstract of the United States.  The Census Bureau, which has published it annually since 1878, has announced that it will discontinue producing it.  It is, in the Census Bureau’s words, a guidebook that “provides a comprehensive summary of industrial, social, economic, and political data. It serves as a statistical compendium and as a guide to other statistical publications and sources. It includes tables and charts drawn from data of almost 300 government, private, and international agencies.”  It is produced both to provide the public with clear and current statistical data, and also to facilitate the best … Continued
Presidents’ Day

Presidents’ Day

Library Resources, Matt Dilworth
Today is Presidents’ Day, but just like on Martin Luther King Day, not many of us are going to celebrate by reading a biography of George Washington.  This day has come to represent ideals far more than any one person’s life.  The idea of liberty, of our national character, is more the spirit of this holiday. As in the population at large, we’ve had presidents who were perceived as effective or not, and some have dealt well with the challenges that faced them, while others have failed in their tasks.  But we can learn from anyone in history, and your library stands ready to connect you with that kind of resource. Several of our databases are particularly good for finding … Continued