Accessing EBSCO[]
Purpose: EBSCO gives Carroll students access to citations (books, articles, dissertations, conference proceedings, etc.). The Ebsco interface became the new home of the ATLA databases on July 1, 2010 for BHCTI. These resources cover ATLA Religion and ATLA Serials (or, ATLAS). And beginning February 2012, the interface became home to H.W. Wilson's periodical database Wilson Omnifile Select. Some of the material in these databases is available in full text- that is, able to be read and printed online in its entirety. The EBSCO interface also includes access to citations from two additional indexes: Old Testament Abstracts (OTA) and New Testament Abstracts (NTA), databases specialized to Biblical Studies. A more general-purpose Spanish language database, Fuente Academica, joined Carroll's Ebsco platform in April 2022.
Additional databases available from Ebsco through TexShare became available online in October 2022 through July 2023
Here are the basics to access EBSCO:
- Carroll Students, access the Carroll Homepage at http://www.bhcarroll.edu/ using an up-to-date internet browser
- Choose My Current Courses (Carroll Learning Center)
- Give your Login and Password (NOTE: Students and Faculty: Your Google account associated with your Carroll ".edu" address should be the data you will use to access the CLC at this step).
- On the Left hand menu, scroll down for the "Push-Pin" icon (Student Resources)
- Choose "Library" (blue lettering) for the Library
- From the list of Library resouces, Choose EBSCO
Note: this new interface became active on July 1, 2010. And beginning in Alpha Term 2011 (August 2011), the new CLC interface prefers an up-to-date browser
Topic A: Searching EBSCO[]
- Choose resources, or the Select All check off box, then select the Continue button
- Type in a search (i.e., Calvinism) and select the Search button
- Recommended:Choose the Full Text box, and the Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals box
- Choose an entry to view citation or full text (when available)
- Save, print, or email selected citations
Trouble with access? Please send comments or questions to me
Learn where to find video versions of the Carroll Tutorials here...
Topic B: Researching with EBSCO[]
Purpose: Go deeper by refining search strategies in EBSCO; like a "rerun" on TV, "research" means "look again."
Try these 5 strategies:
Strategy 1: What are you looking for?
In EBSCO, different resources look for different types of information. Separating and combining the right resources will help you target your searching
| If you need: | Then use: | You'll get: |
| Full text | ATLA Religion, ATLAS | Citations including Full text articles |
| Article citations | ATLA Religion, ATLAS, Old Testament Abstracts, New Testament Abstracts | Citations including Article citations |
| Book citations | ATLA Religion, Old Testament Abstracts, New Testament Abstracts | Citations including Book citations |
| Book reviews | ATLA Religion, Old Testament Abstracts, New Testament Abstracts | Citations including book reviews |
| Dissertation citations | ATLA Religion, Old Testament Abstracts, New Testament Abstracts | Citations including Dissertation citations |
| Religious Studies citations | ATLA Religion, ATLAS, Old Testament Abstracts, New Testament Abstracts | Citations including Religious Studies |
| Education citations | ATLA Religion, ATLAS | Citations including education |
Strategy 2: Do you need a one-two punch?
Do the same search with the "Full Text" box selected, AND with "Full Text" switched off; citations for items that are not full text are still valuable (see Strategy 4 below)
Strategy 3: What terms describe what you're searching for?
Keep a list of search terms you'v used, and of ones you find while searching. Both "abominable snowman" and "yeti" describe the same thing, but some citations may use both terms, and some only one- or the other! Make separate searches with alternative terms; mix it up to see if you've found all there is to find.
Strategy 4: What do I do with these citations?
Please send comments or questions to me Even a citation you find that isn't in full text (i.e., readable on screen) may be obtainable. I can help you determine your options and let you decide when and how to pursue them. I say a bit more about this on my official personal note page.
Strategy 5: Learn more about searching
EBSCO's official tutorials: basic, advanced, and more
Or, click the ? beside this resource in NexLearn for a tutorial (available now!)
TIPS[]
Scripture searching with Ebsco's ATLA Hierarchical Scripture Authority
From the blue bar over the top of the search screen, choose "Scripture" Then take ATLA Hierarchical Scripture Authority from the list Choose your book of the Bible from the from the list Then choose the Expand command to search by book chapter Or even Expand again to choose by verse
From the resulting list of articles, Choose the Full Text box, and the Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals box Choose an entry to view citation or full text (when available) Save, print, or email selected citations and/or full text
Specific Journal searching with Ebsco
You can refine your search by looking for publications in specific journals; here is a link to find out which publications are included in:
ATLA Religion journal titles
ATLA Religion and ATLAS database information pagefrom Ebsco
Old Testament Abstracts (OTA) information page from Ebsco (with links to title list)
New Testament Abstracts (NTA) information page from Ebsco (with links to title list)
OmniFile Full Text (formerly H.W. Wilson) journal titles
Or:
- Access Ebsco as above, and then:
- Chose "Publications" from the menu in the Blue Bar
- Choose "ATLA... Publications" from the list
- Select the "Browsing" box (the lower empty box on the page) and type in the name of the publication you're looking for (i.e., Journal of Biblical Literature rather than JBL)
- From the resulting list, choose the publication, date, and issue wanted
- Then select the article wanted from the issue to see the citation or full text (when available)
- Save, print, or email the selected item
More TIPS[]
Ebsco's 'Best Practices' Tip sheet for finding articles; hit link, then download the MSWord doc- very useful!
Yet another TIP[]
Carroll Tech guru Carl Heath suggest the following if your Ebsco access fails to arrive at the appropriate Carroll subscription:
