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RSTD 211 - Thompson - Fall 2024: Databases

Terms and Searching within Databases

The translations of East Asian languages to English complicate searching and finding all information Trible Library contains relating to people, concepts, and terms. Try searching Google and Wikipedia to obtain different spellings of your word or phrase. For example, I might find resources that refer to "Tao" or "Dao" in our catalog and databases.

Certain databases have incorporated natural language processing into their search engines. In Ebsco databases like ATLA, Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Philosopher's Index, and Religion & Philosophy Collection, try selecting SmartText Searching in the Search Modes box: "Enter as much text for your search as you want - a phrase, a sentence, paragraph, or even whole page." In ProQuest databases like Religion Database and Arts & Humanities Database, the search will automatically interpret your terms, finding variant forms of the words you enter. While not as "smart" as the Ebsco SmartText search functionality, this will assist in finding articles on your topic.   

Trible Library's online catalog is not "smart" in this way. When you look for books, make sure to either search for each spelling independently or do an advanced search which connects the alternate spellings in the search fields with the operator "OR". 

Databases - Search for Journal Articles

Jesse's Top Picks

Other Databases:

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Off-Campus Access:

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Other Options:

  • Use JournalFinder to search for the name of a specific journal.
  • Use Interlibrary Loan (ILL@CNU) to request books or journal articles that are not available at CNU; for example if you find an article in one of our databases but can't locate the full text of the article.
Trible Library provides links to other websites to aid in research and is not responsible for the content or privacy policy of those sites.