Database Searching

City College Library Resources are located at the following site: http://www.ccny.cuny.edu/library/Menu.html

The databases on the CCNY Resources page contain various subject disciplines but all can be searched based on the same principles. Once you know how to search in one database you can follow similar steps to search and find results in another database.

Think about the words that describe your topic. Example: you need resources on diploma mills. The following are a list of keywords that also describes your topic: Accrediting Agencies; Degrees; Distance Education, Internet.

Instead of typing a sentence to define your topic in the database use keywords combined with the word “and”. Example:

Performing this search will retrieve all resources with these keywords. To find all possible resources on diploma mills combine keywords with the word “or”. Example:

diploma mills or internet or accrediting degrees or distance education

Below is an article containing more than one keyword term.

ERIC_NO: EJ585221
TITLE: Diploma Mills in the Cyberage.
AUTHOR: Geer, Beverly
PUBLICATION_DATE: 1999
JOURNAL_CITATION: Training; v36 n6 p48-53 Jun 1999
ABSTRACT: Looks at diploma mills, institutions that require candidates to do little or no work for a postsecondary degree, and their proliferation on the Internet. Discusses accrediting agencies and offers tips to determine the legitimacy of distance-education opportunities. (JOW)
MAJOR_DESCRIPTORS: Accrediting Agencies; Degrees (Academic); Distance Education; Internet;
MINOR DESCRIPTORS: Postsecondary Education;
IDENTIFIERS: *Diploma Mills
PUBLICATION_TYPE: 080
CLEARINGHOUSE_NO: CE534595
ISSN: ISSN-0095-5892
LANGUAGE: English
ERIC_ISSUE: CIJDEC1999

From the CCNY CUNY Resource page you will find databases containing full text resources as well as abstracts and indexes.

In order to retrieve full text materials, look for buttons or check boxes on the search page such as the one below:

Full Text

On the results screen look for full text links that will allow you to view the complete document, for example:

HTML Full Text PDF Full Text (448K)

Most of the databases offered on the CCNY and CUNY Resource page will allow you to select how old the resources should be.

Example: to find articles that were published recently, between January 2003 and May 2003:

Published Date

Yr: to Yr:

Example: this search will find articles published between 1990 and 1995.

From: To:

Databases offer a number of different kinds of materials, for example: magazine, journal, newspaper articles, images, and pamphlets.

EBSCOHOST databases allows you to limit your search to journal articles by check marking this box:
Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals
If you want to limit your search to retrieve only a specific type of article, for example a newspaper article, open the advance search screen and choose “Publication type”.
Examples for article type:

Document Type:

Publication Type

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