Hancock - ENG 190 Sections 08, 24 and 26

Hi Kami Hancock's ENG 190 sections 08, 24, and 26. Thanks for submitting questions at the end of the library sessions last week (11/11 and 11.12). Hopefully the following posts answer your queries. If not, please remember I am happy to meet with you in-person, by phone (314-977-3596), email, or chat.

Q1. How do I find good medical databases?
A1. I would look at the "Browse Databases by Subject" page and click on the "Health & Medicine" link. There are over 60 health and medicine databases listed. Click on the white question mark to open a window that contains a description of the database. Some of the primary medicine databases are MEDLINE, MD Consult, Pub Med, and Scopus.Q2. How do I find good business databases?
A2. Hmmm, that question sounds familiar. I would look at the "Browse Databases by Subject" page and click on "Business" link. There are over 40 business databases listed. Click on the white question mark to open a window that contains a description of the database. Some of the primary business databases include: ABI/Inform, Business Source Premier, Business and Company Resource Center, and Mintel Reports.


Q3. The "Find It @ SLU" button does not always find the full text of the article. What do I do then?
A4. There are three steps listed in the article linker page that appears when you click on the "Find It @ SLU" button. The following video illustrates the steps. http://www.screencast.com/users/SLUjing/folders/Jing/media/02ede139-e53b-4306-a6fa-9f1e6a8a7aa5


Q5. What do you do if you search keywords in a database and get no results even after altering your search?
A5. It is frustrating to search and get few or no results. There are a couple of strategies you can use to increase your searching success. Try using as many synonyms including broader terms for your topic and nest them with the Boolean operator "OR", ex. " wages or salaries or earnings or pay ". Try using truncation to catch all possible forms of a term, ex. "salar*". The truncation symbol is typically an asterisk. Try searching more than one database. The "Browse Databases by Subject" page is a good place to start. And of course another strategy is to find a librarian and have a chat. I am happy to meet with you and discuss your searching options. You can always contact a librarian using the "Ask a Librarian" link on the library portal.

Q6. What is the difference between the SLU Catalog and the online databases?
Q6. The SLU Catalog is a database of the library holdings, i.e. books, journal titles, microfilm, maps, microfiche, media materials, and other materials. The online journal databases index the articles in the journal titles found in the SLU Catalog. So if you need books, the best place to search is the SLU Catalog. If you need journal articles, book chapters, essays, reviews, and newspaper articles, use the online databases.

Well, that's it - all the questions. If you have more questions, please let me know. Happy searching!
Martha