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    Unit 10

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    Unit 10

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    makazaa315
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    UNIT 10

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    8 views9 pages

    Unit 10

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    makazaa315

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    UNIT 10

    DATABASE ACCESS AND UTILIZATION


    LEARNING OUTCOMES
    By the end of this unit students will be able to:

     Understand the importance of electronic journals in academic research.


     Search for full text research articles and book chapters from e-journal and
    e-Book databases.
     Navigate and search the MSU Institutional Repository

    INTRODUCTION
    Electronic resources are online information resources that include e-books
    and e-Journals offering full text access to book chapters and articles. With
    the information explosion, the internet has revolutionised the research
    processes and made information retrieval very convenient. The electronic
    resources which come in the form of e-books and e-journals accessed
    through various online databases have made research activities conveniently
    available (Noreh, 2009).
    Advantages of Online Databases

     Greater and quicker access for students to materials to support their


    learning
     Convenience of access - people can access electronic resources anytime as
    long as they are connected to the internet
     Timeliness - the currency of information, timely availability, the speed of
    access and the ability to search text is the most important factor in
    choosing electronic resources over print.
     One resource can be accessed by many people simultaneously
     Online Databases can be accessed from any computer on campus, off
    campus.
     Online Databases are easily searchable - each database can be searched
    quickly and easily.
     Articles/issues appear online before printed version is available.
     Articles can be commented by the readers and amended quickly
     They are especially useful for finding information not yet available in books,
    or obtaining up-to-date information on current events or issues.

    Disadvantages of Electronic Resources

     All e-resource devices require power.


     Require high cost for technology infrastructure.
     Need special equipment to access e.g. laptops, desktops, e-book readers etc
     Lack of compatibility among different publishers – some articles may not be
    accessible or readable on different platforms
     Copyright violation problem
     Current e-book format may not be readable by future e-book devices.
     Book reading devices are more expensive than most paper books.
     Lack of awareness on IT skills for usage of e-resource.
     Technological barriers – lack of adequate infrastructure e.g. network
    connectivity, electricity etc.
     Lack of uniform standards in the retrieval of software products from
    different publishers creates problems in their usage.
     Since reading of ICT based resources and services requires skills, the users
    have to acquire certain skill before hand or take the help of intermediates
    like library professionals to help them in accessing the electronic
    documents. Even the Library professionals have to learn the skill, if they
    desire to serve the users effectively and efficiently.
     The libraries face a number of problems relating to the new media that are
    yet to be popular among their users.

    Parthasarathy. R (2009). Impact of Electronic Resources on Academic Program


    in arts and science colleges Tiruchirappalli A study. Retrieved from:
    http://hdl.handle.net/10603/186505

    STEPS IN ACCESSING E-JOURNAL DATABASES

    1. Open browser and go to www.msu.ac.zw


    2. Point to “Libraries” and select “E-Journals”
    3. E-Journals are arranged alphabetically and under each e-Journal name there is
    a short description of the subject coverage
    4. You may use the A – Z index at the top to browse through e-Journal collections
    5. If you know the name of the database, type it in the search form e.g. “JSTOR”
    and click on the “Search Databases” button
    6. Click on the “JSTOR” link, you will be prompted for your registration number
    and e-Learning password or your MSU e-Mail username and password
    7. Click on the login button – this will re-direct you to the JSTOR database
    8. Carryout your research in JSTOR

    STEPS IN ACCESSING E-BOOK DATABASES

    1. Open browser and go to www.msu.ac.zw


    2. Point to “Libraries” and select “E-Books”
    3. E-Books are arranged alphabetically and under each e-Book name there is a
    short description of the subject coverage
    4. You may use the A – Z index at the top to browse through e-Book collections
    5. If you know the name of the database, type it in the search form e.g.
    “proquest central” and click on the “Search Databases” button
    6. Click on the “Proquest Central” link, you will be prompted for your
    registration number and e-Learning password or your MSU e-Mail username
    and password
    7. Click on the login button – this will re-direct you to the Proquest Central
    database
    8. Carryout your research in Proquest Central

    PRACTICAL EXERCISES – ACCESSING E-JOURNAL DATABASES

    ACCESSING JSTOR

    1. Go to www.msu.ac.zw

    2. Point to “Libraries” and select “E-Journals


    Point to “Libraries” and select “E-Journals”
    3. The Electronic Journals page has the journal databases arranged alphabetically. You can use the
    A- Z index to browse through the collections. Each journal collection has a short description of the
    subjects covered. You can use the search box to search for journal collections if you know the
    name of the collection you want to use e.g. “JSTOR”

    4. Click on the JSTOR link. You will be taken to an authentication screen where you need to enter
    your Registration number and your e-Learning password.
    5. Enter your Registration Number and E-Learning password in the fields provided and click the
    Login button.

    6. You are now re-directed to the JSTOR journal database. You simple enter your search terms
    and carry out your research in JSTOR
    PRACTICAL EXERCISES – ACCESSING E-BOOK DATABASES

    ACCESSING SAFARI O’REILLY

    1. Go to www.msu.ac.zw

    2. Point to “Libraries” and select “E-BOOKS


    Point to “Libraries” and select “E-BOOKS”
    3. The Electronic Book page has the e-Book databases arranged alphabetically. You can use the A-
    Z index to browse through the collections. Each e-Book collection has a short description of the
    subjects covered. You can use the search box to search for e-Book collections if you know the
    name of the collection you want to use e.g. “Safari O’Reilly”

    4. Click on the SAFARI O’REILLY link. You will be taken to an authentication screen where you
    need to enter your Registration number and your e-Learning password.
    5. Enter your Registration Number and E-Learning password in the fields provided and click the
    Login button.

    6. You are now re-directed to the Safari O’Reilly database. You simple enter your search terms
    and carry out your research in Safari
    Use the above steps to access all subscribed e-Journal or e-Book content from
    Midlands State University.

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