Ivy Tech LIB 200/Reference

Worksheet: Databases
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NAME ___Alisha Short___ Score ___________________

Library Technical Assistant Program

Introduction to Reference Sources and Services
Ivy Tech Community College-Central Indiana

Worksheet
Online Databases

This assignment is worth 25 points.

For this worksheet, you will be using the Ivy Tech Statewide library page
resources.

1. Which general database (not a collection of databases) would you choose

as the best one for a college student doing a paper on social security?
Keep in mind that you are working with a college student. Focus on that
as much as on the subject.
Answer: Academic Search Premier(EBSCO)

2. Use the Academic Search Premier database and put social security in the
search box at the top of the screen. How many results did you get?
Answer: 74,591

 Revise your search to social security and Obama (all in the one basic
search box).
3. How many results?
Answer: 1,200
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 For Questions 4 - 18 use the Bloomington library website

 Click A-Z List of Databases and then on Academic Search Premier
 Put social security in the first box on line 1
 Type Obama in the first box on line 2.
 Change the two boxes to the right to SU Subject Terms and search.

4. How many results now?

Answer: 375

 Change the second box to the right from SU Subject Terms to PE People.

5. How many results?

Answer: 375

6. What must you do when searching for people in the Advanced Search?
Answer: Change the field option to PE People

7. Looking at the Advanced Search Screen you used in # 4, list two ways
from the “Refine Results” column on the left that you can use to limit your
search.
Answer:
a. Full Text – Find Articles

b. Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals

8. Articles can be viewed in HTML or PDF formats. Which format is

available for the article titled: “Let Them Go Bankrupt, Soon”
Answer: HTML

9. Which format is available for the article titled “Trends, Forecasts, and
Bright Futures”?
Answer: HTML & PDF

10. Which format is available for the article titled “Quotable Notables on
Ebook Trends ”
Answer: HTML & PDF

11. Give two benefits of each format (html and pdf).

Answer:
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HTML:
a. The format is easy to read and copy and paste

b. HTML is widely used and easy to learn and create files

PDF:
a. It’s secure and can be protected by a password

b. PDF is a portable document. It allows you to compress files, and

send them without losing the quality of the document(images)

 Use the ‘Choose Databases’ tab at the top of the screen.

 Add the Military & Government Collection to the Academic Search
database.
 Click OK
 Do a ‘Basic Search’ for Iraq war and Bush.

12. Find an article with no full text and give the first 2 titles you see
Answer:
a. Exception and the Rule: Agamben, Stuff Happens, and
Representation in the Post-Truth Age.

b. Presidents, Politics, and Military Strategy: Electoral Constraints

during the Iraq War.

13. What can you read to find out about the content of the first article and
what is the fastest way to access it?
Answer:
a. The Detailed Record

b. MARC Record

14. In what order do the articles in these search results appear (for example:
alpha by author or title, or by date—newest or oldest first)?
Answer: By date – newest first

 Use the ‘Choose Databases’ tab at the top of the screen again.
 Deselect the previous two databases
 Select the best database to help a parent find information about attention
deficit disorder (ADHD) in children.
 Click OK.

15. What database did you select?

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Answer: Health Source-Consumer Edition

 Select “New Search” – Use the ‘Advanced Search’

 Put “ADHD and children” in the Search box.
 Select Full Text in the “Limit your Results” box.

16. How many results did you get?

Answer: 656

 Search for the article titled “The Scoop On ADHD”

 View the PDF version and use the print feature in your Acrobat Reader.
 Click on the printer icon in the black bar on the page image.

17. How many pages will print?

Answer: 4

 Use the back button on your browser and return to the article listing screen.
 Click on the title “The Scoop on ADHD”
 On the right, click on the Cite link and select the MLA citation. You will have
to scroll down to find this.

18. Cut and paste this citation here:

Answer: Weir, Kristen. “The Scoop On ADHD.” Current Health 1, vol. 33, no. 4, Dec.
2009, pp. 12–14. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=hxh&AN=45504486&scope=site.

 Go back to the homepage of the library website

 Click on the A-Z list on the left. This has every database the library offers.
 Select Opposing Viewpoints in Context for Questions 19 – 23.
 Examine this site.

19. Click on ‘Browse Topics’ and choose two topics to explore. Record them
here
Answer:
a. Food Waste

b. Pollution
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20. From what you learned about your topics, describe the essential purpose
of this database. Why would you recommend it to a patron?
Answer: This database brings together academic journals, news articles,
videos, magazines and statistics that go over controversies and popular
topics. This is database that provides different resources for social issues.
I would recommend this to a patron. It provides different and unique
viewpoints that could help a patron get started on their research. It’s great
to listen to different viewpoints, you may learn something you didn’t know
before.

 Go back to the homepage.

 Type ‘Cloning’ in the Search bar.

21. You will see several boxes with topics and articles in them. For example,
the first box is on the topic “Featured Viewpoints”.
Name 4 more of the resource boxes with list of titles.
Answer:
a. Academic Journals

b. Viewpoints

c. Infographics

d. Reference

22. Your patron has asked this question: “Do people tend to think human
cloning is moral?” What answer did you find?
Answer: No. Cloning is treating a human or animal as a commodity. They
would be used, destroyed and discarded for scientific quality. It is
dehumanizing.

This is the exact answer I found: “Commodifying creatures that are close
to us in moral standing may well itself lead to a slippery slope. A word
commonly used regarding commodification in the human context is
"dehumanizing". Once we are used to treating those creatures as a
commodity, something merely to be used, destroyed and discarded if
needed for scientific quality, it may be easier to treat fellow humans in that
way too.”

23. What resource did you use to find the answer?

Answer: Viewpoint essay

24. Which subject box did you use?

Answer: Featured Viewpoints
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25. Give some numbers to back up your answer.

Answer: It is morally unacceptable to …
clone animals 66% clone humans 89%
“Table: Poll: Most Americans Say Cloning Is Wrong”

It is morally wrong to clone animals 66% of US Adults agreed

It is morally wrong to clone humans 85% of US Adults agreed
“Moral Views of Human and Animal Cloning, by Political Ideology, 2019”

 Return to the Issues list.

 Look for information on ‘Online Education’ as it relates to the role of
technology in education

26. List 2 titles - one that supports it and one that opposes it.
Answer:
a. Proof that online high school can work: My daughter

b. Online Courses Fail Those Who Need Help

 Now try another term associated with this topic - ‘Distance Education’.
 Type it into the search box at the top if it is not in the subject list.

27. Did your search narrow or expand results? How did the results differ?
Why?
Answer: It narrowed my results down. There was less news articles and
magazines. There were many more academic journals available. There
was a lot less viewpoints also. I think ‘Online’ is a more common term
used. I don’t think many people look for ‘Distance’ education when looking
for this type of resource. I think when someone looks for ‘Distance’, they
will get the specific resource they are looking for. ‘Online’ is a broader
term.

28. Look for the topic ‘Athletes and Sports’. Describe 2 ways to find images
related to this topic.
Answer:
a. You can click on the ‘Images’ tab at the top of the page

b. You can find the subject box called ‘Images’

 Go to ‘Advanced Search’.
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 Type ‘Human Trafficking’ as keyword in first line

 Type ‘children’ as keyword in the second box

29. What are your results? List 3 different Content Types.

Answer: 12 Academic Journals, 30 Magazines, 277 News articles

 Do one search with ‘Human Trafficking’ and Keyword selected and

Children with Subject selected.
 Do another search with “Human Trafficking” and Subject selected and
Children with Keyword selected.

30. Do you get different results? Why?

Answer: 1st search-1 academic journal, 10 news articles and 3 magazines
2nd search- I got no results
I think I needed to have ‘human trafficking’ as a keyword search. It would
not produce any results for the subject search. A keyword searches
everything, and the subject searches only the subject field. The keyword
search is broader and produces more results.

31. Do a search on ADHD using the Search bar and tell the number of results
of journals, primary sources and statistics
Answer: 1,378 Academic Journals, 1 Primary Source, 6 Statistics

32. Look in the Reference box of the ADHD results, select a resource listed.
Give 3 symptoms or characteristics of children with ADHD.
Answer:
a. Difficulty maintaining attention when carrying out tasks or
participating in activities

b. Failure to follow instructions or complete assigned duties

c. Hyperactivity and impulsivity- excessive fidgeting, squirming,

tapping of the hands and feet, persistent restlessness

33. Look at the ‘Viewpoints’ and give a supporting argument for medication.
Answer: People with ADHD may be hyperactive, but they are often
prescribed a stimulant to help treat the symptoms. Stimulants can improve
alertness and attention without making the hyperactivity worse.
The title of the article is “A Combination of Drugs and Therapy Can Help
Treat ADHD”.

34. Find another article and give an argument that TV viewing may cause
ADHD
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Answer: The inattention behavior could be a consequence of excessive

early television viewing. For every hour spent watching TV, there is a 10%
increase in the probability of attentional problems. Many TV programs
present information in 15-20 second sound bites that require a very short
attention span and could influence brain development in young children.
The title of this article is “Television Viewing May Cause ADHD Among
Children”.

35. Now go back to the Ivy Tech statewide library page and select two other
databases to explore. Tell why you chose them and what impressed you
about each one.
Answer:
a. Health and Wellness (Gale) – I really loved this database. It
provides an extensive amount of health information. If someone
wanted information on Alzheimer’s disease, food allergies or
Polio this would be a great website to visit. Many journals, news
articles and magazine articles are provided. You can also
browse this database by topics. I found this database to be a
great resource for health-related questions. If anyone needed
health information, this would be a great database to visit.

b. Indiana History Online (Gale) – I found this to be very unique

and informative. I liked how it was all about Indiana history. If
anyone was looking for specific historical information about
Indiana, this is a great database. This database may not have
an extensive amount of information, but it is still informative. The
have an A-Z index also, and I found that to be very helpful.