McGovern Library: UNI 101: Library Scavenger Hunt : Library Online Tips & Hints

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Office: McGovern Library 113

Tips & Hints for Library Building Questions

Question 13: Starting at the Library's Homepage search the library's catalog for a book you can find inside the library about South Dakota. Enter the title of the book and the URL link to the library's catalog record below.

Question 14: Using the search from above, find an eBook on South Dakota that can be downloaded and read. Enter the title of the book and the URL link to the library's catalog record below.

Question 15: The library catalog shows results for books and eBooks. What other types of resources are shown in the search results?

Vocabulary to Know

Catalog: a list of books and other materials in a library. Materials can be located physically within the library or digitally online.

Search Terms: the words or phrases searched (like what you would put into a Google search)

Limiters: filters used to narrow the number of search results presented. Common and useful limiters include date of publication, material type, full text, peer reviewed, and language.

Material Type or Resource Type: the format materials are presented in (for example book, eBook, journal article, photograph, etc.)

Permalink: a URL or web address that is always available to use and find (even if the webpage or information moves). Allows people to use a URL link without worrying it will be broken and not work in the future.

How to Search the Library Catalog

Start at the Library's Homepage.
- There are two ways of searching the library's catalog. You can either type directly into the search box and hit search, or you can click "Advanced Search" to add in more search terms and limiters.
Type in your search term(s) and hit enter.
- Search terms can be a title, author, keywords, or subjects.

Catalog Search from the Library's Homepage

Catalog Search from the Advanced Search

Using Limiters to Find Materials

On the left-hand side, you will see "Refine This Search"
Select which format you would like to search
- You can choose Articles, Books (both eBook and Print Books), Videos, Magazines, and more.
Select the Publication Year
- This allows you to limit your search by year. For most academic articles you want to limit to the past 10 years.

Searching Only Books

In your search results, go to the "Refine This Search" box
Limit your format to Book

Limit more by selecting either Print Book (for books found in the library's building), or eBooks (for books located online and available to download).

Finding the Permalink URL to Share and Save

To easily share and save a record from the library's catalog, copy and paste the Permalink located within the record.

Open up the item's record by clicking on the title.
Click "Link" located at the top right of the opened record
Copy and Paste the URL

Question 16: Go back to the library's homepage and find the A-Z Database List. Which databases are listed under "Popular Databases"? Select all that apply.

Question 17: Searching within the database Academic Search Premier, search "first year college students".
How many search results are there?

Question 18: Find an article that was published within the last 5 years (2015-2020). Type below the following: Title; Year/Date; Permalink

Vocabulary to Know

Database: collections of online academic journals that you can search for articles. Databases are often subject-specific.

Popular Database: databases that are frequently used by DWU students and professors.

Librarian Pick: a database that is recommended by a librarian for a specific subject. By beginning your search in a Librarian Pick database in your subject area will result in more usable search results appearing.

Finding the A-Z Database List

The McGovern Library provides access to over 100 databases for you to use. To find the full list of databases:

Start at the Library's Homepage
On the right-hand side of the screen, near the bottom, you will see "A-Z Database List"
Click on "Go to A-Z List"

Go Directly to the A-Z Database List

Narrowing Your Database List Selections

Finding the right database to search within is a vital part of conducting research. There are several ways to narrow the list of databases to choose from.

Limit by Subject
- Use the dropdown menu for "All Subjects" to narrow your your databases by subject.
- Some databases are listed under more than one subject. These databases are multi-subject databases and provide a wide range of resources for you to use.
Limit by Type
- Limiting by type narrows your databases down by material type most commonly provided within.
- Limits can include newspaper, government documents, films, primary sources, and more.
Popular Databases
- Scroll through the list of Popular Databases on the A-Z Database List Homepage.
- These databases are the most frequently used by professors and your fellow students.
Search by Name
- If you know the name of the database you would like to search, you can find it by letter or by typing in the name of the database in the search bar.

Searching a Database (Academic Search Premier)

Each database is unique in the content it provides and the features it has, but most databases have the same basic search features. The search shown below looks at Academic Search Premier.

Start at the A-Z Database List and select the database "Academic Search Premier"

Type in your search term(s)

Limit your search results in the "Refine Results" box located on the left-hand side of the screen.
Limiters include:
- Full Text (articles you can access fully right now)
- Scholarly Peer Reviewed Journals (reviewed by experts in the field of study)
- Date (search for articles published within the past 5-10 years)
- Source Type (academic journals, magazines, newspapers, etc.)
- And more.

Accessing & Reading an Academic Article

Click the title of article you would like to read.
To read the article, click "PDF Full Text" on the left-hand side of the screen.
- If there is no full text available, you can request it from the library through InterLibrary Loan.
To share the article's URL click "Permalink" on the right-hand side of the screen.
To cite the source click "Cite" and select your desired citation style.
- Always double check the formatting of a citation for any errors.

Question 19: Go to the library's homepage and find the Research Guides and Other Information section. Click the "Research Help" tab and then click "Citation Guides". What does the guide say a citation is?

Question 20: What 4 citation styles does the Citation Guide talk about?

Tips & Hints

The Citing Sources guide was created to help create citations for your research papers and projects. This guide contains a home page that defines citations and discusses why citing sources is important, four tabs/pages looking at each of the four most commonly used citation styles, and a tab/page directing readers to online citation generators.

This guide provides an example of what a research guide looks like, and what information is provided by the library.

Additional Information

There are four types of guides that have been created by the library and provide information and resources to students and professors.

Subject Guides / Guides by Subject: Focus on specific subjects and majors.
Note: These guides are in the process of being updated and freshened up!

Course Guides: Created for a single class. These guides have been created to assist you in a specific class. (Just like this guide!)

Research Tools: Help with research specific topics such as citations, developing topics and keywords, and more.
Note: These guides are in the process of being created and updated!

Displays & Events: Created for book displays, special events, and holidays. These guides are fun and show off what the library has to offer (and provides additional outside information and resources).

Check out all of the Library's Guides

Question 21: Go to the InterLibrary Loan Guide. What is an InterLibrary Loan and why would you request one?

Tips & Hints

Check out the "What is an ILL?" section of the guide.

Additional Information

InterLibrary Loans are available for all students to use. You can request materials through the library's catalog and databases. Physical materials (books, DVDs, etc.) usually take 5-10 days to arrive at the library. Digital materials (academic articles) usually arrive within 3 days.

Note: This guide is in the process of being updated. The look will change, but the information presented will stay the same.