Consumer Health Complete

Consumer Health Complete is an Ebsco product that has a different look Ebscohost interface. It is one of two health databases provided as part of the the Gulliver Core (the other is Health and Wellness Resource Centre)

It provides full-text content from over 1000 health related periodicals covering mainstream medicine as well as complementary, holistic and integrated medicine. The reference book content is large but varies in quality (check the dates!). It also includes health reports and fact sheets written for the layperson on diseases, conditions and procedures, drug information sheets, videos and animations.

Database Coverage List

It is aimed at the general public, with "consumer-oriented health content. It is designed to support patients' information needs and foster an overall understanding of health-related topics."

Resources

Take the Guided Tour: http://support.epnet.com/training/flash-videos/CHCinterfaceTutorial.html (5 minutes)

Check out the Basic Search Helpsheet:
http://support.ebsco.com/uploads/kb/chc_basichelpsheet_0707.doc

and the Advanced Search Helpsheet:
http://support.ebsco.com/uploads/kb/chc_guidedhelpsheet_0707.doc

If you are really keen - check out the detailed 69 page Complete User Guide

(these helpsheet links take you to a webpage, where you click on the Document Download link to open the Word file)

Exercises

1. Budesonide is a drug used to treat Asthma. What other conditions is it used to treat?

2. List the title, author and source of a recent news article on food allergy.

3. Find a video on laser eye surgery and list the title.

4. What is the best reference book for information on diabetes in this database?

5. Compare the information available for "Addison's Disease" in Consumer Health Complete and Health and Wellness. Which do you think is better for public library patrons?

Masterfile Premier

MasterFILE Premier from Ebsco is a general database similar to, but not as large as, General Onefile (from Cengage) - some journal titles are available in both databases. It comprises over 1750 journal titles in the areas of business, education, general reference, health, science and more. Australian journal content is duplicated in ANZ Reference Center. It also has selected reference books, biographies and images, including maps and flags.

MasterFILE Premier is one of our Gulliver core databases and is good as an all round resource for students, with content relevant to the general public as well.

Complete List of Available Journal/Magazine Titles

Complete List of Other Sources

Resources

Take the MasterFILE Basic Searching for Public Libraries tutorial: http://support.epnet.com/training/flash_videos/BasicSearchingforPublicLibraries.html

Other searching tutorials:
http://support.epnet.com/training/tutorials.php

Check out their Help information:
http://support.ebsco.com/help/?int=ehost&lang=en&feature_id=none&TOC_ID=Always&SI=0&BU=0&GU=1&PS=0&ver=live&dbs=


Exercises

1. How far back does MasterFILE Premier have full-text content from the Australian Nursing Journal?

2. What is the definition of "genetic drift"?

3. What subject heading does MasterFILE Premier use for Olympic Games?

4. Does the database have any images of the Crown of Thorns starfish? If so, how many?

5. Find an article on the Crown of Thorns starfish and their impact on coral reefs. List the title, author and journal details.

General Onefile

General One File, formerly known as InfoTrac OneFile, is a large general database similar to, but much bigger than, Masterfile Premier (from Ebsco) - some journal titles are available from both databases. It is a collection of 11,000 newspaper, magazine and journal titles (millions of articles!), some back to 1980, which includes a significant collection of Australian titles. General OneFile is our electronic access to Choice magazine and also gives full text to many other key titles including Australian Library Journal, Australian Nursing Journal and more popular magazines including Australian Geographic, Cosmopolitan and more.

Due to its wide ranging content, it could be used for members of the public, searching for Choice articles or content relevant to their hobbies or interests or just for something to read, as well as up to tertiary level students requiring articles for their coursework.

Journal Title List (Excel file)
Newswire and Newspaper Content (Excel file)
Reference Titles (Excel file)


Resources

General OneFile Help homepage
http://gale.cengage.com/onefile/

InfoTrac Web User Guide (148 pages)
http://support.gale.com/utility/downloadArticle.asp?aid=1219

Exercises

1. How far back does General OneFile hold full-text articles to the Australian Nursing Journal?

2. What subject heading is used for Threatened Species? List 2 subdivisions and 1 related subject.

3. Do a search on 'wonders of the world' restricting the results to ones with an image. How did you do this? (include the title of one of the articles found)

4. Using basic search, find an article on DVDs in Choice magazine. How did you do it? (include the title of one of the articles found)

Health and Wellness

Health & Wellness is a medical database which has been part of the Gulliver core for many years. The core content is encyclopedia-based, providing a good article on most diseases that includes recent, authoritative information in easy-to-understand language. The articles include images, descriptions, causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis and links to more information. It is ideal for users with personal or family medical concerns. It also includes content on alternative medicine, drugs and herbal remedies, as well as websites, a dictionary and links to health assessment tools. There is some journal content, medical pamphlets and multimedia material. It has a heavy US bias, so that needs to be considered when using medical terminology, particularly drug names.

HWRC Reference Sources

Search Tips

Resources:

HWRC Help

Health and Wellness Virtual Tutorial (note: takes a long time to load)


Questions:

1. Can the anti-depressant drug Effexor have any fatal reactions and if so, when could they occur?

2. What is dysphasia and what is the prognosis?

3. List several food therapies that can be used to cure hangovers?

4. What is anaphylaxis?

5. What information do I need to determine my Diabetes Type II risk?

6. Compare the information available for "Deep Vein Thrombosis" in Health and Wellness and Consumer Health Complete. Which do you prefer for public library patrons?

Global Books in Print

Global Books in Print is an international database of millions of book titles published mainly in the English language (and, despite the name, includes many out-of-print titles). Originally a bookseller's tool, there are a lot of (relatively) repetitive items as each imprint has a separate record. It covers books, audiobooks and videos and each record has full bibliographic details, plus price and availability.

It is a great source for finding the next title from your favourite author - it includes series information and sometimes a synopsis or review. Try boolean searching for best results (eg. snicket and unfortunate). The default order for results is by publication date, but there are several other options.

Other features include an email alert service, to let you know about your favourite author's upcoming book, various bestseller lists, author biographies ( >11,000) and a handy listing of awards winners (Australian awards include the Miles Franklin, Age Book of the Year and the Australian Children's Book of the Year).

Resources:

Quick Guide to Global Books in Print

Alvin Sherman Library's Global Books in Print tutorial

Exercises:

1. Find out the title of a forthcoming book by a popular author? Give a summary of the synopis.

2. When was the "Time Traveler's Wife" published in Australia? Was it hardback or paperback and what was the price? Is it still in publication?

3. Does Global have any training videos published in Australia? If so, list 2 titles.

4. List the winners of the Shamus award for true crime.

ANZ Reference Centre

Tell me

The ANZ Reference Centre is one of the databases subscribed to by CHRLC and a number of other Victorian Libraries through the Gulliver consortium.

To quote the EBSCO blurb the "Australia/NZ Reference Centre combines Australasian magazines, newspapers, newswires and reference books to create the largest collection of regional full text content available to libraries in Oceania. This database includes leading Australia/NZ periodicals and international periodicals in full text; full text reference books; 84,774 full text biographies and an Image Collection of 235,186 photos, maps and flags. "

Show me

The following tutorials have been provided by EBSCO. The first link will take you to an online tutorial on basic searching.

Searching Tutorial - click here (4 minutes)

If you are feeling more adventurous after looking at this tutorial perhaps you may like to remind yourself what "Visual Searching" is all about and how it works. Again the good folk at EBSCO have put together an online tutorial that will help. This one only runs for 2 minutes and 20 seconds so get yourself a cup of tea and shift your mind into training mode.

Visual Search Tutorial - click here (2 minutes 20 seconds)

For those of you who really want to be known as "Power Users" have a look at the tutorial on how to create search and journal alerts.

Search and Alerts Tutorial - click here (4 minutes)

EBSCO have released an upgrade to the look of the database. For more information go to the following demonstration.

EBSCOhost 2.0 user interface


Let me

If you're feeling a bit more enlightened now is the time to go back and play with the database. It can be found on the Online Resources page listed under "Newspapers and Magazines", go to:

http://www.erl.vic.gov.au/info/ondbase.htm#news

Test me

See if you can find information or answers to the following questions:

1. Find a review of "That Memory Book" - who wrote the book and who wrote the review?

2. Recommend 2 articles on the use of Stem Cell Technology to make Insulin. Name the articles and their authors. 3. Find a recipe for Chocolate Mud Cake and Mandarin Ice Cream. Which copy of the Australian Gourmet Traveller did you find it in?

Britannica Online

Tell Me

Britannica Online is is one of the databases subscribed to by CHRLC and a number of other Victorian Libraries through the Gulliver consortium.
Encyclopedia Britannica Online Library Edition, to give it the full title, offers encyclopedias at 3 different levels according to age group. It is possible to search across all 3 levels at the same time or to specify a search at one particular level.
Encyclopedia Britannica is for adults.
Britannica Student is for Upper Primary and Secondary School students.
Britannica Junior is for Primary School students.
Completed searches will not only give you traditional written articles but links to other websites, relevant magazine articles and multimedia such as photographs and videos.

Show Me

The following link will take you to a tutorial provided by Britannica.

Introduction Tutorial - click here (3 pages)

For a more in-depth look at searching and browsing go to the following help pages.

Advanced Tutorial - click here (7 pages)

Let Me

Britannica Online is found on the Online Resources page under "Encyclopedias and Dictionaries" - go to the following page to try it for yourself.

Encyclopedia Britannica Online


Test Me

1. On what date did the Titanic crash into the iceberg?

2. What year did the last "Thilacine" die? Spot the deliberate spelling error. Check out the neat little box next to the Search Box in Britannica entitled " Unsure of the spelling" - click it and see what happens after entering "Thilacine".

3. How long is a Lacrosse field?