McNair 2016LIBRARY OVERVIEW

https://www.mercy.edu/academics/libraries  

Things You Should Know Access to Databases (full text articles)

On campus Off campus

 System Loans

Books from other Mercy libraries Articles from other Mercy libraries

 Interlibrary Loans

Articles from non-Mercy libraries Other Services in the Dobbs Ferry Library

Center for Academic Excellence Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning (FCTL) Online Learning

 Finding Books…

Finding Journal Articles…

All of Mercy’s databases and journal collections are listed on this page, categorized by topic or program.

Keep scrolling down the page to see all the topics available. Keep these in mind for other classes!

What are Databases? Databases are organized, searchable collections of

particular items, such as journal articles Databases vary in the topics they cover and the

information they provide. Some are specifically geared toward a single subject (e.g. psychology) while others are multidisciplinary (i.e. they cover a wide variety of subjects)

Some databases provide access to the complete text of articles, while others only contain information about the articles.

If you are off-campus, you will be prompted to log-in with your MercyConnect/ Blackboard ID. If you need assistance with your ID please contact the Help Desk at 914-674-7526.

Academic Search Premier is a multi-disciplinary database providing full text for more than 4,600 journals, including full text for nearly 3,900 peer-reviewed titles. 

When a researcher writes an article, he/she submit it to a journal to be published. The article then undergoes the peer review process, i.e. the journal has experts in the field read and evaluate the article, and advise the journal as to whether the research is sound and fit to publish.

Begin by checking off the “Full Text” & “Scholarly (Peer-Reviewed) Journals” boxes.

Now, think about what keywords will help you find the articles you need. Try different combinations of keywords until you hit on the results you want.

Perhaps you’re interested in the effect divorce has on teenagers’ self-esteem. It can be useful to brainstorm synonyms and related concept before you begin your search.

KEYWORDS SYNONYMS AND RELATED CONCEPTSdivorce marital separation, custody

teenagers adolescents, young adults, children, youth

self-esteem self-worth, confidence

Now you have some different searching options. You may discover that your topic is written about using language you hadn’t considered. As you discover new terminology, review and refine your search.

After brainstorming keywords, plug them into the search boxes at the top of the page. Notice that each box is connected by AND. This means that all of the keywords must appear in the article. By inserting OR between the words within a search box, your results will include articles that use either word. (AND versus OR can be confusing – the next slide may help)

AND & OR are called Boolean Operators. They are used to connect search terms so that you target exactly what you want.

Use AND to limit your search and get fewer but more specific results.

If you search for Cats AND Dogs, you will only get articles that talk about BOTH cats AND dogs. You will not see results that ONLY talk about cats, or ONLY talk about dogs.

Use OR to expand your search and get more results.

If you search for Cats OR Dogs, you will get articles that talk about cats, articles that talk about dogs, and articles that talk about both.

So, OR means you get MORE!

So, let’s build a search for this assignment using AND & OR.

Step 1: Type a single keyword in each box. These keywords are all connected with AND so the database understands that we only wants articles that include all of these words.

When I hit SEARCH I get 17 results. That seems manageable to look through! But I want to make sure I’m not missing any really good articles that might just use different language. So that leads us to…

Step 2: Return to the search screen, and add SYNONYMS or RELATED WORDS to the search boxes and connect them with OR. The database now understands that we can be flexible about how the articles describe the three components of our search.

Now I get 37 results! Still a manageable number to browse through, but now I have more options to choose from because I’ve expanded the search using OR.

Let’s take a look at a result that looks promising. Click on PDF Full Text to see the whole article.

This article provides an ABSTRACT. An abstract is a brief summary of a research article and generally includes the purpose of the work, methods used, the results, and the conclusions.

The name of the journal, the publication year, issue and pages are listed at the top of the page. You’ll need these to create a citation!

The authors are listed below the title – you’ll need this information for the citation too!

The icons to the right of the article allow you to do various things, but the most useful functions are:• Print the article• Email the article• Cite the article• Get the Persistent Link to the

article

Emailing articles to yourself is a handy way to keep track or your research materials. When you click the Email icon, you will see this dropdown. Click the “Citation Format” box and select the type of citation needed. The database will then email you the pdf of the article along with a pre-made citation.

When you click on the Cite icon, you will see this dropdown. You may then copy and paste the pre-made citation into your paper.

Always check for mistakes in the pre-made citations! As an automated process, mistakes can slip through.

And make sure you adjust the formatting (italics, hanging indent, etc.) when you copy and paste the citation – the formatting is often lost during this process.

When you click on the Permalink icon, you will see a URL appear at the top of the article. This URL is specific to the article, and allows you to revisit the article quickly and easily.

If you have any questions or difficulty locating library resources please email refq@mercy.edu. The Mercy librarians check this email account during regular library hours, and are happy to assist you with this assignment or any other!

Good luck!