You MUST use at least two Ebsco sources - Ebsco is a search engine that contains thousands and thousands of scholarly publications. This is a research engine that will be tremendously valuable to you in the duration of your career as a student. In order to access Ebsco, login to your Seabury Hall account on the website. Find the Castle Library menu, and there you will find a multitude of search engines, all powered by Ebsco.
You can only use one encyclopedia source - Also on the Castle Library menu, there is a link to our subscription to the Encyclopedia Britannica Academic (both Middle School and High School versions - use either).
Use an unlimited amount of non-Ebsco internet sources, but they must be from scholarly websites. Remember, adding “edu” to your search can help you find good sources.
As many books or scholarly magazines as you wish
Two of the minimum five sources you use for your 8th Grade Project Research Paper must come from EBSCO, so for that reason alone, it is important to know how to use this valuable resource.
Imagine EBSCO as a huge library, but instead of books, it’s filled with all kinds of information you can find on the internet. EBSCO stands for “Elton B. Stephens Company” (though we just call it EBSCO).
Basically, EBSCO’s like your go-to tool for finding trustworthy info, exploring new topics, and finding sources for your 8th Grade Project. Not only that, many, many projects and research papers will require you to know how to use EBSCO.
Think about when you have to do research for a project or find articles for an assignment. EBSCO lets you search for all sorts of things like articles from magazines, academic journals, newspapers, and even books. It’s like having access to a treasure trove of information right at your fingertips!
What’s great about EBSCO is that it helps us find reliable and trustworthy information. You know how sometimes when you search on the internet, you get all kinds of websites and it’s hard to know which ones are really good? They might be blogs or have been created by people without a scholarly background or who do not have some level of expertise on the topic. If you use that source, you will be citing inaccurate or wrong information. EBSCO collects information from sources that experts trust, so you can feel confident using what you find there.
Another good thing about EBSCO is that it covers lots of different subjects. Whether you’re trying to find information about history, science, literature, or even sports, there’s something for everyone. It’s like having a library that has everything you could ever want to know about, except that you can be confident that the source you are finding is scholarly and reliable.
There are two main words you have to remember when it comes to using EBSCO: Keywords and Filters.
Here’s how you can do it:
Keywords: Think about what you’re looking for. Are you researching something for science class or maybe a history project? Type in keywords related to your topic. For example, if you’re curious about space, you might type in “space exploration” or “planets.”
Filters: After you hit search, you’ll see a bunch of results. EBSCO lets you narrow down what you see. On the left side, there are filters. You can pick things like ‘full text’ to see articles you can read right away or choose a date range to find recent info.
Article Preview: Click on a title that looks interesting. You’ll see a preview of the article. This shows you what it’s about and who wrote it. You can decide if it’s what you need for your 8th Grade Project.
Reading & Citing: When you find the perfect article, read through it. EBSCO often gives you options to save it or even cite it properly. That’s super handy when you need to write down where you got your info from. You will need this information for your Works Cited page.
Explore More: Don’t stop with one article! EBSCO’s got tons of stuff, so explore different articles and see what you can learn. You might find something even cooler than what you expected.
This happens sometimes, but don’t give up hope. Afterall, you must find at least two sources by using EBSCO. Here are a few steps that might help you if you get stuck while researching EBSCO:
Refine Keywords: Sometimes, the keywords they initially use may be too broad or too specific. Think of synonyms or related terms that might be used in the articles they are seeking. For example, if I search “Radio” and it gives me too much information, not enough information, or obscure information, then I might try “Invention of Radio” instead. It might give me more information closer to what I need.
Use Filters Effectively: Use the filters on EBSCO to narrow down your search results. Filters like date range, source type (e.g., academic journals, magazines), and subject area can help refine your search to find more relevant sources.
Explore Different Perspectives: Exploring different angles or perspectives related to their topic. Sometimes, approaching the topic from a different angle can yield more sources or different insights.
Check Search Strategies: Review their search strategy with them. Ensure they are using quotation marks for exact phrases, Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) to combine or exclude terms, and other advanced search techniques if appropriate for their level.
Seek Help from Your Teacher: If the student continues to have difficulty, encourage them to seek help from the school librarian or their teacher. Librarians are often skilled in helping students navigate research databases like EBSCO and can provide personalized assistance.
Explore Related Topics: Sometimes, finding sources on a very specific topic can be challenging. Explore related topics that might still be relevant to your topic but have more available information. For example, if you are researching “Wing Foiling,” you may strike out trying to find information since the sport is relatively new. However, if you research “Hydrofoil,” it might yield more information. Additionally, if you know some pioneers in the industry, you might look at that as well.
Expand Beyond EBSCO: Looking at other reputable databases or sources beyond EBSCO that might have relevant information. Sometimes, different databases specialize in different subject areas or types of sources.
Sometimes, if you enter your topic and add ".edu" to the search at the top, you will likely find more reputable sources than if you just enter your topic. Remember, ".edu" stands for "education" which implies that the cite will likely come from a scholarly source. Similarly, ".com" stands for "commerce" which means that the source is likely trying to sell you something.
Wikipedia sometimes gets a bad rap. Because it is an open source, meaning anyone can contribute to the information, we cannot rely 100% on everything that is in Wikipedia entry. However, while you may not use Wikipedia as a cited source, it can be a good first stop for keywords to enter into your EBSCO search engine. Additionally, at the bottom of most Wikipedia entries, there is a list of cites that might help you as well.