Accessing ATLA (and other databases) via EbscoHost
EbscoHost is the platform through which Bridwell provides many of
the databases most useful for work in Religion and Theology. The
most important of these is the ATLA Religion Database, compiled
by the American Theological Library Association. To use
any of these databases, please follow these step-by-step instructions:
1) start with Poni, SMU's online catalog, and select Online Resources.
2)
On the left-hand side of the Online Resources page, under the
heading that says ‘Indexes, Databases, Reference Resources, and
More,” you will see an alphabetical list. Select ‘E’ for EbscoHost.
(Or, if you want to search any of the Ebsco-sponsored databases
individually, go to the appropriate letter in the list, for example
'A' for ATLA.)
3)
From the ‘E’ list, select EbscoHost.
A menu of databases provided by the Ebsco platform will appear. You
can select as many as you like and you can search them
simultaneously--unless you are searching Scripture Citations.
Instructions for Scripture Citation searches are below. The basics for work in Religion and Theology
include:
ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
Academic Search
Complete
Catholic Periodic and Literature Index
New Testament Abstracts
Old Testament Abstracts
Depending on the nature of your project, you will want to review the
coverage of the other Ebsco databases as well, for resources in
psychology, health, art, anthropology, sociology, history, and other areas
touching on religion and theology.
4)
Select the databases you want to search by clicking on as many of the boxes on to
the left of each title as are appropriate, then click the 'Continue' button located at
the top or the bottom of the screen. This will allow you to
search all of the selected databases simultaneously.
5)
The search screen that appears will be very similar to the Advanced
Search option in PONI. It consists of three keyword fields in which
you can put your search terms. Remember to try synonyms and variant
terms to see which words and terms work best. You can narrow
your search results by using the drop down menu (in the default
position of 'keyword') to select more specific options, such as
author, title, etc.
Searching for scripture citations.
The Scripture Citation search is
only effective in the ATLA Religion Database, so to do this search
you need to de-select any other databases in EbscoHost by clinking
on the "Choose Database" tab adjacent to the Ebsco logo.
1) Under the tabs where you find "Choose
Database" is a green banner with various options. Click on the
option that says "scriptures."
2) In the "browse for" field, enter the
first few letters of a book of the Bible (such as Thess) or the full
name of the book and a chapter number (such as Mark 2). Click
'Browse'.
3) In the list that appears, select as many
options of the book, chapter, and verses as are appropriate, then
click 'search'.
Or, althernatively, you can :
1) Select ATLA, then enter the book and chapter in the first search field
(for example John 3).
2) Change the option in the box to the right from
“Select a Field (Optional)” to “Scrpture Citation” by using the pull
down menu. The “Scripture Citation” option is toward the bottom of
the list. Then click search.
You can make your search more specific by adding verses, for example
John 3:1-10. Or you can add a keyword in the next field, for
example, “Nicodemus,” or “born again.”
Searching for book reviews.
To search for reviews of books, you simply enter the book’s title in
the first search field, and the word “review” in the second search
field. Keep in mind, however, it takes as long as 18 to 24 months
for reviews to appear, so if you are searching for reviews about a
recently published book, they may not yet be available.
You can also search for reviews by and about specific authors by
entering their names in the first search field and the word “review”
in the second. This search will retrieve reviews written by them as
well as reviews of their own work.
last updated January 2008
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