Module 1. WHERE TO SEARCH

Objectives - On completion of this module, students will be able to:

• identify the contents of two types of databases - a library catalog and an article (or bibliographic) database;
• choose when it is appropriate to search a library catalog or an article database.

Two critical sources of information for your class work are:

• the Purdue University Libraries' catalog
• article (or bibliographic) databases

Below is the Libraries' home page (http://www.lib.purdue.edu) where you can take a variety of actions, such as begin a catalog search or link to other resources, including article databases.

What is the Purdue libraries' catalog?

The Libraries' online catalog is a database of item records. Each item record represents a specific book, journal, or piece of media owned by the Purdue's Libraries system.

When should I search the Libraries' catalog?

• to find information about a specific title
• to see a list of titles written by a specific author
• to locate items the Libraries owns on a specific topic

What type of information does the Purdue Libraries catalog provide? -

The catalog supplies you with titles and campus locations of books, journals, magazines, newspapers, videos, CDs and electronic resources.

How do I start a search?

From the Libraries' homepage, you may begin a catalog "Quick Search" in the box (seen below) on the left side of the Libraries home page. Enter your keyword, title, or author's name, select the correct field to search from the drop-down box and click on Quick Search.

What does the Libraries' catalog NOT provide? - The catalog does not tell you what articles are contained within individual journal issue or volumes. This is the purpose of an article (bibliographic) database.

Beside the Libraries' catalog, another essential type of database is an article or bibliographic database.

What is an article database? Usually, it is an index to journal articles that contain published reports or reviews of research. For example, in veterinary medicine, research topics may include animal behavior, specific diseases, diagnostic methods, or therapy. Some article databases contain only citations (title, author, source, volume & page numbers) to articles, while others link to the full-text of the article you select.

To access the article databases from the Libraries' home page, find the Key Resources list along

the right side of the page. Click on Finding Articles and Data. (Or, click on Articles and Databases from the toolbar at the top.)

You are now on the Resources and Databases page seen below. You may choose to find a database by title or by subject or look at an alphabetical list of article databases only.

When should I search an article database?

• to find citations to journal articles on a specific topic
• to find links to full-text articles (if available) on a subject

Note: The two databases most relevant to veterinary medicine are CAB Abstracts and Medline, in that order. To reach them quickly, use the All Databases By Title link seen above.

For a broader overview of the literature of veterinary medicine (i. e., what type of information you can expect to find in textbooks, reference books, and journal articles), click here (http://www.lib.purdue.edu/vetmed/inst/svmleader/vetliterature.html)

Summary of Module 1 -

The Purdue Libraries catalog is a database listing all items - books, journals & media - owned by the Purdue Libraries, with information on each title, such as its campus location, call number, and, in the case of books and media, whether it is currently available.)

You search the catalog to find information about a specific title, the books written by a specific author, or what items the Libraries own on a specific topic.

An article (or bibliographic) database is a collection of citations to articles contained in thousands of journals. In some databases, links to full-text articles are available. Purdue does not own every journal cited in article databases.

Search an article database mainly to find journal articles that report research results on a specific topic.

MINI TEST OF MODULE 1 -

1. You can search the Libraries catalog for a book only if you know its author or part of its exact title.
   True
   False
   
   
2. The two article databases most relevant to veterinary medicine are CAB Abstracts and TOXLINE.
   True
   False
   
   
3. MEDLINE contains information on whether a book is currently available for check-out.
   True
   False
   
   
4. Purdue has a subscription to every journal title cited in the article databases on its web site.
   True
   False
   

Check out Module 2 for more instruction on different types of searches.