LSHS Subscription Databases

Subscription Databases are collections of high-quality information that are generally quite trustworthy. These are the best place to look for quality, reliable information. Companies stake their reputation on the quality of this information, and libraries pay tens of thousands of dollars to provide you access to the information. As a result, you generally won't find this quality information on the free Web using search engines.

Home Access to databases: Click the Web Passport (to the left) and enter one password to get a list of all the passwords you need to access the databases below from off-campus. You can access most databases from home; those that you can have the house icon near the top right corner. Houses in yellow feature databases that are also available on the free iPhone and iPod Touch app.

Effective Search Strategies include using Boolean strategies (see below), using advanced searches, trying multiple forms of keywords, and selecting appropriate databases for your search. A key part of any search is using critical thinking skills to determine the quality of information in your search results.

Search Multiple Databases at once		Databases from your Mobile Phone after school hours



Periodicals

General & Specialized Databases











EBSCOhost Science	Teacher Reference Center	EBSCO Middle Search



Citations
eBooks: Reference

Other Resources Free on the Web

Subject Directories are listings of Websites on the free web (anyone with a browser and an internet connection can see them) that have been scanned by at least one human. There are two kinds of subject directories: Academic and commercial. Academic subject directories are created by experts who can judge the value of information and only quality sources are listed; commercial subject directories generate money for their creators based on mouse-clicks and the content is therefore questionable. Well-researched and respected academic subject directories include eThemes (from Mizzou), Academic Info, BUBL, Internet Public Librarian, Infomine, Internet Scout, Intute, Librarian's Internet Index, Subject Guides, and Virtual Library.

Pathfinders are a type of subject directory. Pathfinders are Web pages put together by teacher librarians (media specialists) and include information on a very specific subject. The teacher librarians look at sources on the Web and pick the best-available free sources in addition to books and database sources, saving students a lot of time when looking for quality sources. Usually Pathfinders are for very specific classroom activities or projects, but if a subject is similar to your topic you might be able to use it!

Search Engines use computer-generated results. Different engines rank the results differently, so choosing the right search engine is important. Frequently, there are thousands or millions of search results, but there is no quality check on the information. Search Engines use a technology called spiders to crawl the web looking for updated information and new pages. However, Search Engines can't access most content on the Deep Web, which includes pages that are password protected, in databases, or in non-spider readable formats. The Deep Web is slowly becoming more visible as Spider technology increases, but there are millions of documents available that search engines can't find but are available if youknow where to look. Sometimes, you can find information from the Deep Web by searching a subject term and the word "database", such as:
plane crash database
A Meta Engine is an engine that incorporates a number of other search engines into one search, such as ixquick.

The Next Generation of search engines?: Microsoft claims Bing eliminates much of the clutter you get on Google. Wolfram Alfa is attempting to make all systematic knowledge computable by anyone and has constructed a unique and highly useable search engine. Wolfram looks to be particularly helpful for math and sciences.

Boolean Searching Tips & Tricks

AND, +, &	Joins search terms. Most search engines assume this if you don't put it between search terms.	Sand + Castle
OR, \|	Looks for either word. Some search engines automatically use this rather than AND.	Sand \| Castle
NOT	Excludes information. This is particularly helpful when you need a non-fiction book and don't want fiction titles.	Royalty NOT Fiction
" "	Looks specifically for that term in quotes	"Sand Castle"
*	Stands in for characters and helps finding words of the same root.	Experiment* finds experiment, experiments, experimentation, etc.
*( )	Finds plurals and close matches	*(Sand Castle)
!	! stands for one or no characters; very useful is searching for plural forms but not others, or alternate spellings.	Col!r {finds color, colour) Product! {finds product, products, but not productive, etc}
?	Stands in for one character and helps if you aren't sure of spelling.	Psych????y would find psychology and psychiatry but not psychotherapy
~, NEAR	Can't spell it? Use this because it finds near matches on spelling.	~Rennaisance
title:, t	Finds the words in page titles. This works especially well on search engines like Alta Vista.	title:HenryVIII
u:, url:	Searches in the Web address.	url:university
AND ( )	Nesting allows you to advanced search on one line by including several terms.	Martin Luther ! King + (England \| Reformation)
N3	N=near 3=#of words. N3 means the search finds the search terms before or after (near) each other.	Cattle N3 slaughter would find the word slaughter within three words before or after cattle.
W8	W= within, 8=# of words. W8 means within 8 words after the search term. The number of words can be modified.	Bono W8 amnesty would search for the word amnesty within eight words after Bono.
link:	shows a list of pages that link to a specific Web page	link:http://www.go.com/

New Ebsco databases for 2011/2012: MasterFILE Premier, Academic Search Elite, Consumer Health Complete
ERIC, MAS Ultra School Edition, Middle Search Plus, Primary Search, Newspaper Source, Science Reference Center, Professional Development Collection, Book Collection: Nonfiction – High School Edition

The new databases should be searchable by August 25, 2011.

Deleted Gale databases for 2011/2012: Due to decisions at the state or district level, the following Gale databases are no longer available: Academic One File, General One File, InfoTrac Student, Informe!, Popular Magazines, Agriculture Collection, Business Economics and Theory Collection, Communication and Mass Media Collection, Criminal Justice Collection, Culinary Arts Collection, Fine Arts & Music Collection, Educator's Resource Center, Garden Landscape and Horticulture Collection, Health Reference Center, Home Improvement Collection, Hospitality & Tourism Collection, Small Business Resource Center. Atomic Learning has also been deleted.

Updated August 19, 2011.