In particular, you will want to become familiar using URSUS and Indexes and
Databases, for your TOP coursework.
URSUS is an online catalog which can be searched in a variety of ways,
including by keywords, titles, authors, and subject, and to find out if a
particular periodical is available through the University of Maine system
library.
How to use URSUS
You can get to our class readings or search for journals or books. Follow
the directions provided here for accessing electronic readings:
http://www.ccids.umaine.edu/interedu/gradei/download.htm
To search URSUS, read the information provided in the library’s tutorial,
found at
http://libraries.maine.edu/mariner/tutorials/index.asp
To locate journal articles, when you don’t know what article you are looking
for, but are trying to find articles on a particular topic, go to Indexes
and Databases.
How to use Indexes and Databases
Specific information is provided online from this page:
http://libraries.maine.edu/mariner/tutorials/index.asp#Anchor-Findin-48927
By visiting this link,
http://www.learn.maine.edu/ocls/,
you can download help sheets for using ERIC and PsycINFO. These are two
databases that have information for the field of early intervention.
Work through this example to practice doing a search on ERIC:
1. From this page -
http://www.library.umaine.edu/
- select Indexes and
databases.
2. Find ERIC – Education and click on the link.
3. Type in Service coordination and click on Search. You should get about
168 hits.
4. Click on the tab Search Options and add and family to service
coordination and click on Search. That should reduce the number to about 93.
Note: these numbers will change as more articles will have been indexed
since this example was created.
5. Click on Search Options and for Pub. date, select the dates Jan. ’97 to
Aug. ’02 and click on Search. That should result in about 40 hits.
6. Having less than 100 hits to consider is manageable but if you want to
refine the search further, you can limit the search to journal articles only
by clicking on Search Options and selecting Journal Articles, either under
Pub. type or Journal or Document. Click on Search. Now you should have about
10 hits.
Follow these directions to find the articles:
There are two types of articles in your list. One type will allow you to see
and print the actual article online. Look for a citation in your “hit list”
that has Linked Full Text after it. Click on Linked Full Text. This connects
you to another page with a listing of the article. Click on the article
under the heading Full text from EBSCOhost databases. This will allow you to
view the article online.
The other option is for those articles that aren’t available online. Go back
to your “hit list”. Find an article that has How to Find This in the Library
after it. Click on that link for directions. The key is to write down the
name of the journal, volume and number. Then, when you search on URSUS, take
notes of which library not only carries the journal but has the volume and
number you want.
For example, if you are searching for and article in TEACHING Exceptional
Children, volume 31, number 2, you would find through URSUS that it is
available in Orono, Gorham, Farmington, Fort Kent, Machias, Lewiston, and
the Maine State Library. Machias is the only location that doesn’t have the
volume and number you want.
