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Choosing a Detection Tool:
Subscription Databases |
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General Search Tips for Detection
A suspected text source that may have been taken from a periodical resource indexed in
a subscription database can be difficult to uncover. At the present time, most detection
tools and services cannot provide access to subscription databases. Therefore, the
instructor is left with the task of out-thinking the student, and deciding in what
database to begin their search. This is a time consuming process however, most academic
libraries make available at least one general full-text database that
undergraduates gravitate towards as a first-stop in their research. These include examples
such as:
- Academic Search Premier
- LexisNexis Academic
- Proquest Direct
- Expanded Academic ASAP, Infotrac
- EbscoHost
If searching fails, this can be narrowed by asking:
| Were the students assigned a specific
database? (e.g. Medline, Social Science Index) |
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Begin your search in that database. |
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| What general subject area does the student's thesis fall
under? |
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Try searching search subject specific databases. |
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| Could the content have come from an abstract or the
"full-text" of an article? |
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Begin by searching full-text databases; then move to
those that provide abstracts. |
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Count yourself one step ahead if your library makes available the opportunity to search
multiple databases concurrently from one interface. Choose a unique phrase from the
suspected text and investigate how to 'phrase-search' within the chosen database. If this
feature is not available, select specific key concepts or keywords from the text in
question to combine with boolean
operators. For more information on searching with boolean operators, visit one of the following tutorials: Colorado State University Library; New York University Library; Internet Tutorials.
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