LOGINS & PASSWORDS
C
lick Here for the Passwords List. You'll need to log in as a Catlin Gabel student or employee. Having trouble? Contact your division librarian.
Fall 2023
LIBRARY HOURS: Mon., Tues. & Thurs: 7:30am-4:30pm;
Wed: 7:30am-3:20pm (afternoon faculty meeting);
Fri: 7:30am-4pm.
CLOSED on non-class days.
Honors Inorganic Chemistry Research
Search Skills
Good searches require good ingredients, and scientific vocabulary.
STEP ONE: Clarify your question.
STEP TWO: Brainstorm keywords and phrases to fuel your search. Use synonyms. Ask Becky about scientific terminology.
STEP THREE: ZOOM OUT BEFORE ZOOMING IN:
Learn the basics about your topic through a good quality website or review article (.gov or .edu sites might help). You might try Advanced Search in Google and limit by domain to find a good overview of your topic. Review articles are also a great choice.
STEP FOUR: Select databases from the list provided. Start with a broad search, and slowly narrow it down. Learn from your searches. Gather keyword ideas by reading abstracts (brief summaries of the contents of the article).
| The Power of Review Articles: Some databases permit you to find review articles that "catch you up" on the most important research on a specific topic. These are excellent entry points for students learning about a topic. |
The Mechanics of Good Searches
Put phrases in quotation marks
Ex: "carbon sequestration"
Ex: "biomass fuel*"
Ex: "nuclear waste"
Use truncation to grab all endings of a word
Ex: sequest* finds sequester, sequesters, sequestered, sequestering, etc.
Ex: pollut* finds pollute, pollutes, polluting, pollution, etc.
Narrow Down Your Search
This example shows a search of three EbscoHost databases. Start with a simple search term. We have nearly 36,000+ results. Yikes.
Add search terms, using quotation marks for phrases. Limit by date range, and select FULL TEXT for articles you can read right now.
Now you have a manageable number of up-to-date articles to peruse.
Need help with your research? Ask Becky or Sue.
Choosing Databases
Selecting the right tool for the job is the first task. Different databases search for different kinds of content. For current scientific research, journal articles are like loaves of bread: FRESH is what you want! Here are your best choices for Inorganic Chemistry.
HELPFUL HINTS: Click the Logins & Passwords link at the left. When using EbscoHost databases, you can select and search multiple databases simultaneously.
Human Health Databases
CHOOSING MULTIPLE DATABASES
Searches are more efficient and effective when you bundle together databases by the same company. EbscoHost databases can be bundled together. Here's how:
Choose a selection of databases that fit your topic from the list of recommendations on your LibGuide page.
NEW: How-To Videos for Becky's Students
Selecting multiple databases & searching full-text
