Working With Academic Search Premier

What is Academic Search Premier (ASP)?

ASP is one of the many OhioLink databases subscribed to through YSU's Maag Library. When you access ASP, you'll see that it is actually part of the EBSCOHost Research Databases, a collection of about 25 databases offered as part of the OhioLink system. EBSCO calls ASP "the world’s largest academic multi-disciplinary database," noting that it "provides full text for more than 3,600 scholarly publications, including full text for more than 2,700 peer-reviewed journals." All of the articles housed in Academic Search Premier are available in full-text, many in PDF (Portable Document File) format. ASP is an excellent starting point when looking for online versions of articles that originally appeared in print periodicals. 

How Do I Access ASP? 

• From any on-campus YSU computer:
  
  You have direct access to ASP (and all of EBSCO and all of OhioLink) from any web browser on an on-campus YSU computer. The easiest way to get to ASP (other than using the link provided on this page or elsewhere on this 1551 course web site) is through the Research Databases link on the left-hand menu of the Maag Library home page. 
  
  

• From an off-campus, non-YSU computer: 
  
  To access ASP (or any OhioLink resource) from an off-campus computer you have to log in at the Ohio Link authorization page. To get to this authorization page, go to the OhioLink homepage and then click on "Log In." At the Log In page you first identify your institution (YSU). Next you provide your name and your YSU Maag Library card barcode # (on the back of the card). Once logged in, you come to the main page for OhioLink databases.  Select "Listed by Name" and then the appropriate letter (in this case "A") where you will find a link to ASP. 
  
  

  • You can also access ASP off-campus through the web site of the Ohio Public Libraries (OPLIN), so long as you have a valid public library card.  Note, though, that the OPLIN links bring you to the Basic, not the Advanced search page of ASP. To get to the Advanced Search page, simply click on the Advanced Search tab. 
    
    To get to ASP through OPLIN, start with this link to the OPLIN list of databases. Once there, find the EBSCO databases icon and click on the Home Access link below the icon. Next selet your home library and enter your library card number. Next click on Academic and Professional Journal Databases from EBSCOHost. Then select Academic Search Premier. Finally, click the tab for the Advanced Search. 

How Do I Perform A Search Using ASP?

ASP offers two search menus: Basic or Advanced. For your work in 1551, you should use the Advanced Search menu mainly because it allows you to limit your results to articles available in PDF form (see below). [You'll know you're on the Advanced Search page if the Advanced Search tab at the top of the page is colored green, not blue.] 

To set up a search, type a word or phrase in the Find field. 

NOTE: if you type more than one word in Find, Advanced Search assumes you are searching for that exact phrase. If you don't want the exact phrase, but want two main search words (example: diet and carbohydrates), then type one word in the find field and one word in the "and" field.

And NOTE FURTHER:  the "and" field is really an "and," "or," or "not" field, depending on what you select. AND, OR, and NOT are standard Boolean search operators, and knowing how they work can help you pinpoint your searches in almost any database. EBSCO's Search Tips for an Advanced Search explains these operators like this: 

• AND - combines search terms so that each search result contains all of the terms. For example, travel AND Europe finds articles that contain both travel AND Europe.

• OR - combines search terms so that each search result contains at least one of the terms. For example, college OR university finds results that contain either college OR university.

• NOT - excludes terms so that each search result does not contain any of the terms that follow it. For example, television NOT cable finds results that contain television but NOT cable. 

Here's an example of some search options: if I type diet pills in the Find field, I get results that contain the exact phrase diet pills. But if I want articles that deal specifically with diet pills and ephedrine, then I would type diet pills in the Find field and ephedrine in the "and" field. If, however, I want articles about diet pills but don't want any references to ephedrine, then I would type diet pills in the Find field and ephedrine in the "not" field.

What Kind of Results Does ASP Provide for Each Search?

ASP provides two kinds of results: 

• full text PDF articles [PDF means Portable Data File]. PDF files provide what could be called an online photocopy of the original printed article. They come with the original layout and pagination (page numbering). You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to read and/or print out PDF files.
  
  Most campus computers have Acrobat Reader. If you need to download Acrobat Reader for your off-campus computer, go to the Acrobat Reader Download page and follow the directions. To keep things simple, do not check the box for the extra features. Simply indicate the platform and then click the red download button.

• full text HTML articles [HTML means Hypertext Mark-up Language, or the code that makes a file readable as a web page]. You can read HTML articles in any web browser, but they have been reformatted for the web and do not appear in their original print form and do not have the article's original pagination.

How Do I Limit Search Results to Only PDF Articles?

1. Be sure you are on the Advanced Search page (Advanced Search tab should be colored green)

2. Click the Search Options tab (below the search fields) to open the Search Options menu [if the menu is already open, you do not need to click on the Search Options tab]

3. Look for the Search Options section called Articles with Images and click on PDF. [PDF turns green and is highlighted in black].

4. Now go back to the search fields and set up your search.

Working with PDF-limited search results:

When your search results display, you'll see that each article is available in PDF. Some articles, though, will be available in PDF and HTML. To check out the contents of an article quickly (to see if it might be useful) look at the HTML version (they tend to load faster than the PDF's). If the article looks like a possibility, put the citation in your Folder by clicking "Add" to the right of the article citation. (See more about using the ASP folder below.)

If you determine that a particular article is a "go," and you want it in full text form, then be sure to get it in its PDF form. Open the PDF version in Acrobat Reader and then do one of two things: either print the article using the Print icon at the top left of the Acrobat Reader Window (not at the top of the browser window), or save the article to a disk (or to a home computer's C drive) by clicking on the floppy disk icon at the top left of the Acrobat Reader Window. As with any first "save," you will have to name the file and tell the computer where to save it. Note that PDF files can be pretty large, so you might need more than one floppy disk to store a PDF article. The size of a PDF file is usually listed at the end of the citation for that article, in KB's or MB's.  A typical floppy disk holds about 1.4 MB of data, or 1400 KB.

How Do I Work With the ASP Folder?

The ASP folder feature allows you to store up citations from the list of results for one search or for a series of searches. [It looks like you can even go to an altogether different web site, then come back to the ASP page with the folder still "up to date" with your previously added citations.] 

• To put a citation in your folder, click on Add (located to the right of the citation).

• To open your folder, click on the link that tells you how many items are in your folder.

• When you open your folder, you can look at stored items just as you would in a regular list of search results. You can also remove items that you don't want to keep.

• You also have three "Delivery Options" if you want access to your folder contents during or after your research session:

1. Print.   The Print link opens the Print Manager. You have several options.  If you want only the citation, then de-select the two items under "Include" (leave them blank). If, however, you want the full text and an abstract (a short summary), then be sure there are check marks in the two boxes under "Include."  No matter what you select, when you click "Print" ASP will first show you exactly what you are about to print and tell you the number of pages. Note that you cannot print PDF full-text files from the folder. You can print only HTML-full text files.
   
   

2. E-mail.  The E-Mail link opens the E-mail Manager. Type in your e-mail address and a subject heading for the message. Then select what to include in the e-mail content. The choices are the same as when Printing, except that you have the option to send a PDF file as an attachment. If you select the PDF attachment option, keep in mind that PDF files are large, so a PDF attachment might take a long time to download, if its gets through at all. [If you want a PDF file, don't rely on the e-mail option. Instead, print it out or save it to disk from Acrobat Reader. Note: you can print or save PDF files ONLY with Acrobat Reader.] 
   
   Note that, unlike the print option above, the E-mail option does not show you what you will be e-mailing before the message goes out. 
   
   

3. Save to Disk. The Save to Disk link opens the Save Manager. Here the options are the same as with Print (see #1 above), and when you click Save, ASP shows you the content you are about to save (the same as with Print). [Note that you cannot save a PDF file from the folder.]  
   
   ASP also tells you, when it shows you the contents you are about to save, that you have to click on File, Save As in order to save the information. When the Save As box opens, give the file a distinctive name and tell the computer where to save it. 
   
   Since you are not saving large PDF files when saving from the folder, you should be able to fit a good number of citations (and their HTML full texts) onto a floppy disk. But always have at least two floppies available when you are planning to save articles during a research session.

Note that in all three Delivery Options the first option presented is whether or not you want to empty your folder after the delivery. If you don't want to empty the folder, be sure the Empty Folder box is blank when you do your delivery.