PY 105 Guide to Expanded Academic ASAP

Preliminary Preparations Using Expanded Academic ASAP
1. Finding journals in the library

1. Preliminary Preparations

When coming to the library, you should be aware of the following:

Your student ID card allows you to borrow library books Photocopying costs 10¢ per page.  You can purchase a copy card next to the copiers.  The card can be "charged" with bills of $1, $5, $10, and $20.
• Know your e-mail address to send information from the databases and indexes.
  

2. Using Expanded Academic ASAP

To find journal, newspaper and magazine articles on your topic, search a periodical database. Periodical databases are not search engines (e.g., Google); they are indexes to periodical literature.

A periodical database is a collection of information on a specific subject or on a variety of subjects. They may contain citations and summaries of articles (e.g. author, article title, journal title, volume, issue, date, page), or have the complete or fulltext article, or both. Depending on the database, it may contain scholarly journal articles, popular magazines, trade publications, newspaper articles, reviews, abstracts of dissertations, and more.

Middlebury College subscribes to many different databases in various subject areas.

• Library's Article Index page

Searching Expanded Academic ASAP

Sample topic: Let's say you are interested in the topic: eating disorders in teenagers. 

Start at the Library Main Page. Click on Indexes and Journals Click on Interdisciplinary Indexes or Indexes by Title Click on Expanded Academic ASAP
1. Click on the Keyword Search link at the left of the screen.

Think about your topic's key words. For example:

eating disorders, teenaged or teenager



1. You will need to connect these key words with Boolean connectors (also known as Boolean operators).

AND is a Boolean connector used to connect different terms together in the same search sentence.  Connecting two terms with AND narrows the search.

OR is a Boolean connector used to connect similar terms together in the same search sentence.  OR broadens the search.


• Keywords connected by OR should be inside parentheses, when used with AND in the same search sentence.
  

Search Steps:

Type: eating disorders and teenage* in the box and click on the Search button.
(teenage* will retrieve the keywords: teenaged, teenager)  

 

Some of your search results will be fulltext (which means the entire article is available online), while others will have only citation and summary information (e.g. author, article title, journal title, date, volume, issue, page and summary). Click on one of the titles in the results list.

You may click on the links under "View other articles linked to these subjects" to find other related articles on your topic.
If you are finding that you are getting too many hits, you may limit your searches to fulltext or refereed (reviewed by professionals in the field) items.  You may also limit by publication date or journal title.
 

You may also add additional keywords to limit your search. If you need help, ask a Librarian.
To e-mail records to yourself, you must first select the relevant items from the results list by checking the appropriate checkboxes.
Then, click on "View Mark List" on the left side of the screen.
You may then choose to either print your records, or e-mail them to yourself.  If you want to print, choose whether you want to print just the citations, or the full text articles.  Click "Submit Print Request."

If you want to e-mail the records to yourself, type your e-mail address into the blank, and any subject you want to give the message.  Choose whether you want just the citations, or the full text articles, and click Submit E-mail Request.



1. If you need help, please ask a librarian.  We're here to help you!

3. Finding journals in the library

Not all of the library's periodical databases have fulltext articles; many provide only citation and summary information. It is important to learn how to determine if the library has the journal you need, when you have only the citation.

Sample journal citation:

Psychology Today March 2001 v34 i2 p20

Searching for Serials in MIDCAT:

Start at the Library Main Page. Click on Print & E-Journals A-Z Search for your journal by entering the first few words of the title.
• This tool pulls together the libraries' journal holdings in every format (electronic, print, and microfilm).  It is the easiest way to locate journals, magazines, and newspapers.

• electronically through InfoTrac OneFile
• in print in the Middlebury College Local Holdings.  This link will take you to the journal record in MIDCAT.
  

Alternatively, you could search for the journal in MIDCAT.
 

 

bound journals (back issues) will have a call number current issues will be arranged in alphabetical order by title microFILMS are arranged by microfilm number
• microFICHE is arranged alphabetically by title
  
  

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Need additional help?  Please come to the Reference Desk or call 802-443-5496.

Last updated 2004/11/11