Social Science Citation Index

This evening I researched the Social Science Citation Index under the Education Tab. This site offers a really great search. There are many limiters you can add and there are search bars right on the home page to add or exclude certian words from search results. It also has a year and database limiter. After you actually do a search you can go to the left hand side bar and refine your search even more by selecting areas of study, document types, languages, and even institutions. You can order your search results by relevance, entry date, and author. The database has a citation option as well as an export to endnote or refman. you can also mark each result if it something you are interested in or may want to come back to later. It seems to be a pretty helpful and straight forward site if you are looking for things that fall under the social science catagory. It seems to be like many other databases though. I didn't really see anything that made it stand out to me or make me say "oooooo how neat!" good database still.

Credo

Today I researched Credo. This site is my assigned datbase as well as a new addition to the libraries collection. I think it is really a great place to start research. It is really based of general reference matireal. One of the best options this database offers is its link directly to our catalog as well as other databases such as academic search complete and Oxford reference. It has a bilingual dictionary link for those students that english is not their first language. It also has Concept Map that is SUPER COOL! I remember having to do one of those for my comp class. It is really neat and would give students a great jumping off point. When you click on an entry related entries are displayed to the left of the screen. You can email, save, and even share entries on other networks like facebook or google. There is also an Easybib link that puts whatever you are looking at into bibliography form. There is a conversions option in gadgets for quick conversion references. There is somewhat of a folder system that does not require signing in which is nice. The only thing I can say I dont like about Credo is that it is very basic. Most information you look up is pretty general. It serves as a great jumping off point but i think there are better database options for in depth research.

Education Mental Measurments

Today I researched the Education Mental Measurments Database. I started by searching preschool rating scales. Because the site is an ebsco product it brought up MANY results but easily enough I found one that met what I was looking for. One option I think could be very helpful for students writing research papers is the "find simular results" link that is available after you click on an article. The database narrows down your original search and chooses entries that are very simular to the one you chose originally. The database also has a create note option that I thought was really nifty. You can create notes as you go along finding things you want to include in your research. This could come in real handy, I wish I would have known more about this when I was having to write papers all the time. Like many other databases there is a direct export link as well as a sitation link that includes six different citation styles. Users can also set up a folder system with this database. I get so excited about different languages and guess what!?! This site translates full articles into any language you could ever imagine. There is also a preference option that lets you control the way the screen looks, column settings, and citation settings. This database has all the bells and whistles that make research a little less nightmare-ish!

Kraus Curriculum Development Library Database

I researched the Kraus curriculum Development Library Database this afternoon as well. Originally this database really confused me. I wasn't sure exactly what my searches were bringing up. But after some readung and researching the background infromation i think i have it somewhat figured out. It is (surprise suprise) exactly what it says it is...a curriculum library. Search results bring up potential curriculum you might be interested in and then you click on what you want. The page brings up the curriculum as well as information about it like topics covered, author and contributors as well as a download link to view the actual source. I thought this database was pretty neat. its something different. it doesn't just give you information but actual curriculum. I can see how this would be very helpful to education students. I have seen student after student come in and have to sift through all our curriculum. this data base is very specific and its search options make narrowing your search down to exactly what you want fairly easy. I think it is a good database and is something that all education students should know about.

Mental Measurment Database

After posting my blog on the reference desk page I tried to paste it here..with no luck so my blog will now be located under the comment section of this post. Today's not my day.

First Research

The database I reasearched tonight is First Research. This database covers all kinds of different aspects of business. There is a search box like many other databases. First Research also includes a main topic search where general links are provided in order to navigate users to what they are looking for more easily. Since I usually spend my summers in a grain elevator I decided to do my search on agriculture crop production. The search brought up a large article that is devided into chapters like recent developments, financial infromation, trends and opportunities and more. You can view all chapters at once or click on the link at the side and the database will navigate you to the chapter of your choice. The article provided information about producers, statistics about production, new technologies that impove farming, soil information and much more. The page also offers links to other sources that may be helpful to users. There is a tab at the top of the home page that says states and provinces. When I clicked on it a map appeared where users can chose a state they want information about. An article then comes up with all kinds of information about that state. Users can see the unemployment rate, export statistics, and tax revenue information. Users can also see what towns in that state are hiring and which are laying workers off. There are also major industry updates where patrons can get the latest information on health care, manufacturing, tourism, and more as it pertains to that state. This database is so helpful. I really think its creators covered all their bases. There is tons of information on this site, and it is easy to use.

wired.MD

The second research project i completed today was over wired.MD. This database provides video and full articles to patients and medical students to help them develop a better understanding of medical issues. The coolest thing about this database was the little animated body at the side. Users can choose male or female then scroll over any part of the body and click to bring up information about that particular area. Upon clicking articles on that topic pop up in a little dialog looking box towards that side. A user can scroll through these results quickly and find information they are looking for without ever having to tough the keyboard. When you choose a major topic there are other sub areas you can choose to, like watching video about the subject, reading handouts, viewing prescription information and more. This database has a basic search like any other database where users can type in their topics, but it also has a search by specialty option. This site is SOOOO simple to use and there is really no need to ever touch the keys. It is all just a click away. Vidoes come right up on the window as well as articels too. Users are never navigated away from the home screen it all pops up on one page. I really like this database.