Study Toolbox: Searching EBSCOhost - All Databases

Creating an advanced search

Enter your search term/s in the first search box on the Advanced Search screen.

Choose a search field from the All fields drop-down list (e.g all fields, all text, author, title or subject terms).  Search fields tell the database where in the article’s record to look for your search terms.

Repeat the steps above for the second and third search boxes if required.

Click the Boolean operator drop-down menu to combine the search box entries with AND, OR, NOT.  (The default operator is AND).

• The Boolean operator AND will narrow your search and provide fewer results because the database only retrieves results that contain all of your keywords. 
•  The Boolean operator OR will expand your search and provide more results because the database retrieves results that contain at least one keyword. 
• The Boolean operator NOT will narrow your search and provide results that include the first keyword and excludes the second keyword.  

Click the Add fields link if you would like to add more search boxes to your advanced search.

Within the search boxes you can use different search techniques e.g. phrase searching, truncation and Boolean operators.

Applying filters before an advanced search

Before clicking Search, under Filters apply any desired limiters to your search.  For example, you may want to limit results to items with full text available, peer reviewed and published in the last ten years.

Some filters are unique to specific databases.  When searching multiple databases, in the Filters section click the expand arrows to view and apply filters specific to each database.  When applying these specific filters with a drop-drown menu, you can select one or multiple options.

Under Search options, you can update the search mode and/or apply expanders to your search results.  Search modes offer four different ways to conduct a search.  While expanders widen your search to include words related to your keywords or utilise mapped vocabulary terms to add precision to keyword searches.

When you are done making selections, click Search to view the results list.

Applying filters after a search

You can refine your search results by applying filters.  Click the All filters button below the search box to display them.

The Filters panel is displayed on the right side of the screen.  Click the arrows to expand facets and display the available filters.  When you are finished making filter selections, click the Apply button to update your results.

After applying your selected filters, the number of applied filters is updated on the All filters button.

Video credited to EBSCO Tutorials.

EBSCO Tutorials. (2024, August 2). Advanced searching on the new EBSCO user interfaces – tutorial [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM0_IfwfsKQ

Organising the results list

Use the drop-down list to select how many results are displayed on each page.

Sort the results list by date or relevance using the drop-down list.

Accessing articles

After running a search, you can go directly to the full text of a result from the Access options link or click the title to go to the article’s detailed record.

From the article’s detailed record, click Access options and select either PDF or Online full text to read the article online or click Download.

• Some articles will have the option of PDF or Online full text.  There is a difference between Online full text and PDF.  Online full text is in HTML format and displays as one long continuous page and does not include page numbers.  You will need to reference a HTML document as an electronic source with counted paragraphs.  PDF is a scanned copy of the original article and has page numbers.

On the article’s detailed record use the tools in the upper right corner to Save to your Dashboard, Cite the article, Add it to a Project in your Dashboard, Share via email or Download the article.

• To permanently save or add to a project in your Dashboard you must be signed in to your personal MyEBSCO account.

Using the PDF article viewer

When you select the Access option PDF, it is opened in the PDF viewer.  The menu in the top right provides a selection of tools including Save or Add to a Project in your Dashboard, Cite the article, Share via email, Download, Print or Listen to the article being read aloud.

• Click the Headphone icon to have the article read aloud to you.  From the PDF viewer, you can adjust the volume and playback speed or download a MP3 file of the article.

Using the Online full text article viewer

There are different tools available when the article is viewed in the Online full text format.  Like the PDF viewer the menu in the top right provides tools to Save or Add to a Project in your Dashboard, Cite the article, Share via email, Download, Print or Listen to the article being read aloud.  However, the Online full text viewer additionally provides a Table of Contents and the ability to Translate the article into another language.

When only the article's abstract is available...

When searching you will come across articles that are abstract only, meaning only the abstract is available to read.  In this situation you can request the article through interlibrary loan.  Select the Access option Request this item through interlibrary loan.  A new window will open, complete the form and submit it. 

• The library will receive this form and try and locate a New Zealand library who can provide the article.  For most articles a unique URL and password will be emailed to you which is used to access the article.  You can download or print the article.  The article is available for 30 days or 5 downloads.  On the rare occasion, due to publisher restrictions, you may have to collect a printed copy of the article from the Invercargill SIT Library front counter.  For distance students this printed copy will be posted to you.     

Video credited to EBSCO Tutorials.

EBSCO Tutorials. (2024, August 13). Reading an article on the new EBSCO user interfaces – tutorial [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKeDiMi-rLk

The Dashboard (available in the column on the left side of the EBSCOhost databases) is where you find your projects, saved items, searches and items you have viewed.  To retain items saved to your Dashboard you must set up a personal MyEBSCO account and sign in before every search.

Creating a MyEBSCO account

Create a personal account by clicking on the MyEBSCO link in the top right corner and selecting Create an account.

Fill in the fields, use your SIT student email in the email address section.  Follow the strong password guidelines to create your password.  Consent to EBSCO’s Personal Data Retention and Usage policy.  You can read the policy by clicking the link.  If you do not consent to the policy, you will be unable to continue creating an account.  When you are finished, click Create account.

Signing in to your MyEBSCO account

You MUST sign in to MyEBSCO before you start saving items to your Dashboard.  If you are not signed in, items will not be retained past your current session.

Video credited to EBSCO Tutorials.

EBSCO Tutorials. (2024, October 9). MyEBSCO and the dashboard in the new EBSCO user interfaces – tutorial [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idjLXJk4yBg

From the Dashboard, you can access projects (folders), save articles and ebooks, searches and records viewed during the current session, ebook holds and checkouts and search and journal alerts.  To retain items saved to your Dashboard you must set up a personal MyEBSCO account and sign in before every search.

Projects

Projects enable you to collect and organise the articles and ebooks you find while searching.  For example, if you were working on multiple research projects, you could create a project for each one to store articles on your different topics. In addition, you could assign each project a due date to help prioritise your work. 

• Please note: You must be signed into your MyEBSCO account to create projects and store items in them.

Creating a Project

Click Projects under My dashboard in the column on the left.  → Click the Plus icon.

Enter a name for your Project, choose a due date (optional), description (optional) and click the Create button.

Your newly added Project is displayed in the list.  Projects can be ordered by newest or oldest.  To edit a project, click on the menu icon to the right of the project's name.

Adding items to Projects

Once your project is created you can begin adding your research items to it.

Articles and ebooks can be added to a project two different ways.  From the results list click the menu icon and select Add to project OR from the article’s detailed record click on the Add to project icon in the top right corner.

Select an existing project from the drop-down menu or click New project to create a new projject. → Click Save.

Saved

Saving a search

Save your searches to the dashboard from the results list.  After running a search, click the menu icon on the right and select Save search.

If desired, modify the search name, enter an optional description and then click Save.

Bookmarking articles and ebooks

While articles and ebooks can be saved into folders in Projects you can also bookmark items.  Bookmarked items are located in the Saved area of the Dashboard.

Bookmarks can be added two different ways.  From the results list click the Bookmark icon OR from the article’s detailed record click the Bookmark icon.

Accessing saved items and searches

Saved items and searches can be accessed from the Saved area of the Dashboard.  To view saved articles and ebooks select the Records tab and click a title to view it.  Click the Searches tab to view saved searches and click a search to retrieve the latest results.

Holds and checkouts 

Click the Holds and checkouts area of the Dashboard to view the ebooks you have checked out.  From the ebook’s detailed record select download and choose a due date to add an ebook to your Holds and checkouts.

Video credited to EBSCO Tutorials.

EBSCO Tutorials. (2024, October 9). MyEBSCO and the dashboard in the new EBSCO user interfaces – tutorial [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idjLXJk4yBg

Search alerts save valuable research time and can be set up to provide automatic email notification whenever new search results become available.  Search alerts are saved for one year but can be extended if required.

You must log in to your MyEBSCO account to create a search alert. If you do not log in prior to setting up a search alert you will be prompted to do so.

Creating a search alert

After running a search, click the menu icon on the right and select Create alert.

If you are not logged in to your personal MyEBSCO account, you are prompted to do so.

Complete the alert setup form by setting the alert name, an optional description, select a frequency from the drop-down list and select your notification preferences (e.g. daily, weekly, monthly).  Enter the email address you want your future results sent to and click Create alert.

Your newly created search alert is confirmed.  Click Close to return to the result list.

Managing your search alerts in the Dashboard

After search alerts have been created, you can manage them from the Searches tab in My dashboard. They are also saved as a Search and can be found on the Saved tab of My dashboard. 

Accessing and editing a saved search alert

Click Alerts in the Dashboard menu on the left and click the Search alerts tab.

Click the menu icon on the right to open the menu from which you can edit your alert, view all results for your search or delete the alert.

• Please Note: If you delete the search alert on the search alerts tab, the search alert is deleted but the corresponding saved search remains. However, if you un-save the corresponding saved search for your alert, it both un-saves the search and deletes the alert.

When editing an alert, make your desired updates to the settings and click Save changes.

• Please Note: You can also extend or renew your alert by checking the box under Extend or renew alert.  After saving your changes, the alert is extended to run for a year from the date of your edits. 

When your alert is approaching expiration, the alert system notifies you thirty days in advance and then once a week until the alert has expired.

Viewing your search alert results online

If you opted to not receive email notification for your search alerts, you can generate your latest alert results by clicking the alert name on the Search alerts tab under Alerts in the dashboard.

The displayed results are from the latest run of the alert. Results from previous runs of the alert are not available in this list. Click the View all results link to view all available results for your search alert.

Viewing results from the search alert email

If you opted to receive an email notification and the run of the alert contains more than 25 results, you can click the View all results button at the bottom of the email to go to a results page with the entire list of results from that run.

• Please note: The result set displayed by clicking the View all results button expires after five alert runs. For example, if your alert was set up to run weekly, it will expire after five weeks. If it was set up to run daily, it will expire after five days.

Video credited to EBSCO Tutorials.

EBSCO Tutorials. (2024, October 23). Create search alerts on the new EBSCO user interfaces - tutorial [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1egBMQyp7_Q&t=68s  

The EBSCO mobile app provides library users with an easy way to access EBSCOhost resources on the go.  It is a great way to read ebooks and articles you have already saved to the Dashboard. 

While the app provides some great functions, for advanced searching the library recommends using the full databases on a laptop or desktop computer. 

Downloading the app

The EBSCO mobile app is available for iOS and Android devices from the iTunes App store and Google Play store.

Your device must be running:

• Apple iPhones and iPads: iOS 11+
• Android Devices: Android 9+

Go to either the iTunes App store or the Google Play store and search for EBSCO mobile app. → Install the app on your device.

Signing in to the app

Open the App and tap Access with your institution to locate SIT’s subscribed databases.

In the search bar type Te Pukenga SIT.

Select Te Pukenga SIT Business Division from the list. → Click Connect your institution. → Next sign in with your SIT login details e.g. your student email address and password.

Signing in to your personal MyEBSCO account

From the home screen click the Account icon in the menu at the bottom of the screen.

Login to your personal MyEBSCO account or create an account.

• When you sign in with an existing account, items stored in your MyEBSCO dashboard are available from the Saved items in the app. However, items stored in Projects you have created are not available in the EBSCO Mobile App at this time.

Once logged in, from the home screen you can access articles you have viewed, recommended articles based on the most recent articles and ebooks you have viewed and search recent subjects.

Searching the app

Tap the Magnifying Glass in the menu at the bottom of the screen to access the Search screen.

Enter your search terms in the search box.  As you type the app suggests search terms you can tap to quickly run a search.

Tap a filter (peer reviewed, full text, date range) to apply to your search.

• When you tap to add a date filter, select a date range or create a custom range.  After entering a date range tap Apply to add it to your search.

Tap Search on your device’s keyboard to run the search.

After running your search, the Source Type filter is also available below the search box.  Limit your search results by selecting one or more source types and click Apply.

Your results are displayed. Tap an article or book title to see the details and read the full text, when available.

Author searches from the details page

From an article or ebook’s details page, you can also perform a search for more items from the author or authors of the article. Simply tap a hyperlinked author name under Details at the bottom of an article or ebook’s page.

Reading articles and ebooks on the app

Tap Access options to read or listen to the article or ebook.

• Please Note: The Access options feature will not appear when full text is not available.

Depending on availability, you can choose to read the article in PDF full text or Online full text format.  You may also click Listen to have the item read to you.

• There is a difference between Online full text and PDF.  Online full text is in HTML format and displays as one long continuous page and does not include page numbers.  You will need to reference a HTML document as an electronic source with counted paragraphs.  PDF is a scanned copy of the original article and has page numbers.

More like this

The More like this tab on the details page of an article or eBook recommends other items related to the one you are viewing.

Tap an article or ebook in the list to view the item's page and access the full text, when available.

Bookmarks and the app

When you are logged in to the app with your personal MyEBSCO account, articles that are Bookmarked in the app are saved and are available from anywhere you log into your account (e.g. EBSCOhost – All databases accessed via a computer).

• If you do not log in to your personal MyEBSCO account bookmarks are only saved until your login expires or you log out of the app.

Bookmarking articles and ebooks

Make sure you are logged in to your personal MyEBSCO account.

From the item’s details page OR the results list tap the Bookmark icon.

Once saved the Bookmark icon changes to a solid colour.

If you wish to remove the article or ebook from your bookmarked articles, simply tap the icon again.

Viewing your bookmarked items in the app

On the home screen tap the Bookmark icon in the menu at the bottom of the screen to view your saved items.

Tap an article or ebook title on the Saved items tab of the Dashboard to read it.

Sharing articles from the app

From the article’s details page tap the Share icon in the top right corner.

Select the desired method to share the article from your device’s available options (e.g. email, Messenger).

Video credited to EBSCO Tutorials.

EBSCO Tutorials. (2024, March 12).  The EBSCO mobile app - tutorial [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sm54o0E2-NM