Help with Using EBSCO Host (data base of full text journal articles)

EBSCO Host features extensive online help. When entering EBSCO Host "through the front door" (clicking on the link from the CUNY "licensed resourses" page and after authentication -- automatically when using a CUNY computer, or via RPA or proxy server), you get to the help pages by clicking on the link labeled "Help" in the upper right corner of the screen. However, the individual help pages are also available directly -- apparently without authentication.

As this help system is rather elaborate, and sometimes "less is more", here is a list of some of these help pages.  So, this page simply provides an easy starting point for finding the specific help a user may need. Many of these pages include screen shots. Note, however, that a local administrator (like CUNY EBSCO administrator) has a number of options on how to set up EBSCO Host for use on the local campus. So, what you find using the CUNY version of EBSCO Host may not be fully identical to what these screen shots show. Anyway, it may be a good idea to print these pages and have them handy when you do a search on EBSCO Host.

Also, all these EBSCO help pages have forward and backwards arrows in their upper left corner. Once you display one page, so can go through all pages in a section using these navigation arrows without returning to this (referring) page. The listing below follows this sequential order and uses the page titles used by EBSCO:

1. The Basic Search Window
2. The Advanced Search Window
3. Using Search Options
4. Viewing the Result List
5. Viewing the Full Record
6. Linking to Information  -- how to get  "persistent" (permanent) links when including it in a paper or other submission or when saving it as a "favorite" (MS IE) or "bookmark" (NS)
7. Using Automatic Translation Software

As the EBSCO online help document on saving "persistent" URLs is a bit misleading, here are step-by-step instructions:

1. Click the title of the article in the result list.
2. On the next screen (with the abstract of the article), click either "Save" or the icon (looks like a diskette) next to it
3. On the next screen (titled "Save Manager"), click the "links" tab (so that this tab changes from blue to green)
4. Click the (grey) "Save" button inside the box
5. The next screen contains the persistent URL, copy the part which reads something like this "http://search.epnet.com/direct.asp?an=7278151&db=aph";

do not copy the "  ", start with http and end with aph. This is your persistent URL, paste it into MS Word (or any other application). Do not follow the instructions on the EBSCO page; these apply only to people who write HTML source code.