reference databases

reference databases

Celebrating Computing

Celebrating Computing

, , Library Resources, Matt Dilworth
This week is Computer Science Education Week, and a great time to learn about the ubiquitous technology that has reshaped the world.  Established to honor the birthday of Grace Hopper, an early computer programmer and the inventor of the computer language COBOL, CSEd Week is focused on preparing students in all disciplines to learn about and embrace computers in order to be competitive in the modern job market. And we have plenty of resources for studying any aspect of computing – programming, history, education, and more.  For articles, try a database like ProQuest Computing or Communication & Mass Media Complete or the computer science section of Taylor & Francis.  And there’s more online, as well, with sources like the Computing … Continued
A Streamlined Database

A Streamlined Database

Library Resources, Matt Dilworth
If you’ve ever used a library database to do research, chances are it was an EBSCO database.  From general-knowledge resources like Academic Search Premier to discipline-specific parts like MedLine, PsycInfo, Business Source Premier, Communication and Mass Media, and ERIC, it covers every discipline taught at IU East – and includes over a third of our full text articles.  More students use it than any other database. But at the end of the month, our most popular databases will be getting a facelift.  EBSCO is redesigning their interface based on user feedback, to make it cleaner and easier to use.  For example, have you ever run a really complicated search?  Something like: TI nursing AND information AND (system* OR technology) AND … Continued
Finding Theory for Practice

Finding Theory for Practice

, Matt Dilworth
One question that’s been asked a lot recently concerns various nursing theorists.  Our databases can be great sources for this kind of information.  Major nursing databases like CINAHL, Health Source: Nursing Edition, and MedLine are a great place to start. Try truncating or reducing the number of words in the search to find more articles.  For example, Dorothea Orem AND Self Care Deficit Theory comes back with only one result while Dorothea Orem AND Self Care comes back with dozens.  Just searching Orem AND Self Care returns almost four hundred, but many of these are just about the application of her theory rather than having much about Orem herself.  In the same way, Imogene King AND Conceptual Theory finds less than … Continued
ProQuest Mobile

ProQuest Mobile

, Library Resources, Matt Dilworth
We know how things are for college students – you’re busy.  Between classes, part-time jobs, and extracurricular activities, it can be hard to find time to fit it all in.  And doing research can be vexing, if you have a sudden great idea about a topic or a search, but you’re nowhere near a computer.  So is there a solution for people on the go? Absolutely.  Our catalog already allows you to send call numbers to yourself with the ‘text a call number’ button, and that can be useful for picking up books you want for your paper.  But what about getting articles and newspapers?  Yes you can, with a new mobile framework for the database ProQuest. ProQuest is one … Continued
Money makes the research go ’round

Money makes the research go ’round

, Frances Yates, Library Resources
July brings a new fiscal year and with it comes renewal requests for many of the databases and other online resources you may need for your academic research. We wanted to share with you the costs of some of these. The viability of these resources for our campus is calculated using a formula of “cost per use.”  The more times they are used, the lower the per-person cost.  So let’s get the most bang for our buck while also getting the benefit of using reliable resources for research!  If you have any questions about any library resources, you are welcome to “Ask us!” by contacting library director Frances Yates, fyates@iue.edu.