MAS Ultra School Edition (EBSCO)DATABASE SEARCH AND CITE TIPS

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Internet vs. EBSCO MAS Ultra

The next slide should look familiar…

3You need to know the difference… and why it matters

InternetEBSCO MAS Ultra School Ed.

Information available on websites and web pages.

Authors can be anyone, so evaluate each source carefully

Author may be organization with a mission to share information and influence your decisions

Cost: Free Access: Web browsers and

search engines via computer with Internet access

Information was originally published in magazines, journals, newspapers, books, on radio, TV, or for specific database.

Authors are typically professional writers and/or researchers w/ a mission to share information; may want to influence your decisions

Cost: RBHS pays for databases that hire their own writers and researchers or subscribe to magazines, journals, etc.

Access: Username & password; computer with Internet access

4It matters because…

The material in EBSCO’s MAS Ultra School Edition was originally published in magazines, journals, newspapers, books, or on radio and TV And you have to identify the kind of source as well as its title in order to cite

it.

The authors of the previously printed/published information in EBSCO’s MAS Ultra are named with the articles they write And you have to identify and cite those authors

We pay an annual subscription for EBSCO MAS Ultra So there is a unique username and password for our account

And I can’t post that information online

5Not All Databases Are the Same

Some write and publish only their own material - only online

Ex: ABC-CLIO American History

Some write and publish their own material in their own magazine and online

Ex: Issues & Controversies

Some subscribe to and publish online what was originally printed or spoken in another publication (journals, newspapers, magazines, radio/TV transcripts, government proceedings)

Ex: EBSCO MAS Ultra – School Edition

6EBSCO MAS Ultra – School Edition Is (by far) the Most Challenging of our Databases to Cite

Contains several different databases that you must recognize and cite separately (ex: Professional Development Collection, MAS Ultra School Edition, Newspaper Source)

Contains several kinds of sources that you must recognize and cite differently (ex: periodicals, newspapers, academic journals)

Requires a PermaLink rather than a URL to retrieve a source for your citation (Remember: only those with a subscription can access the database. Including the PermaLink in your notecard allows you to go to the article at a later date from NoodleTools without signing in to EBSCO.)

Includes only abstracts of some articles

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But…CITING MAS ULTRA – SCHOOL EDITION IS NOT AN IMPOSSIBLE TASK

8Begin at our library website

Go torbhsmediacenter.org

Hover over Researchers

Click on Databases

9After you log in, click on the top line.

Click on top line

10Think carefully about your topic and choose one or more databases wisely

If your topic is education-related, include Prof. Dev. Collection and ERIC

Remember: MAS Ultra is a database made up of several databases.

11Options for refining your search in MAS Ultra – School Edition

If you are not getting enough sources, broaden your search by checking this box.

ALWAYS check this box.

12Reading Your Results List

EBSCO automatically sorts by relevance. (Notice how old both articles are.) Click the dropdown menu to sort by date.

A

Circles with letters correspond to notes on your NoodleTools citation handout.

13Reading More of Your Results List

AThe HTML text is formatted for computer. The PDF text looks exactly as it did in the original print source.

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Full text article below

B

C

Databases are notorious for technically

incorrect citation suggestions. NoodleTools

won’t steer you wrong.

15Reading Results List for Citation Info

B

A

16It’s not as hard as it looks

Open EBSCO MAS Ultra in one window

Open NoodleTools in another

Keep your How-to-Cite-EBSCO Handout in front of you

You may have to look harder to find information in a database, but what you find is often a more in-depth and analytical perspective on your topic than you will find on the open Internet.