InfoTrac

InfoTrac is a company that produces high quality online databases. These web-based resources provide access to millions of full-text articles from scholarly journals and popular magazines. InfoTrac databases include:

• Expanded Academic ASAP - 1980 to present
  From arts and the humanities to social sciences, science and technology, this database meets research needs across all academic disciplines. Access scholarly journals, magazines and newspapers - with full text and images.
  
• General Reference Center GOLD - 1980 to present
  This general interest database is used to search magazines, reference books, and newspapers for information on current events, popular culture, the arts and sciences, sports, etc.
  
• Health Reference Center-Academic - 1980 to present
  Use this database to find articles on: Fitness, Pregnancy, Medicine, Nutrition, Diseases, Public Health, Occupational Health & Safety, Alcohol and Drug Abuse, HMO's Prescription Drugs, etc.
  
• General Business File ASAP - 1980 to present
  Use this database to research all business and management topics. Includes directory listings for over 150,000 companies as well as investment analysts' reports on major companies and industries
  
• Contemporary Literary Criticism
  Contemporary Literary Criticism-Select (CLC-Select) is an extensive collection of critical essays on contemporary authors. Each CLC-Select entry contains a biographical/critical introduction, listing of principal works, and sources for further study.
  
• Biography Resource Center
  This database contains biographies from numerous reference sources. Biography Resource Center also includes full-text articles from hundreds of periodicals. Search for people based on one or more personal facts such as birth and death year, nationality, ethnicity, occupation or gender, or combine criteria to create a custom search.
  
• Student Edition
  A database designed for high school students, with access to a variety of indexed and full-text magazines, newspapers and reference books for information on current events, the arts, science, popular culture, health, people, government, history, sports and more.
  
• Kids Edition - K12
  This periodical database is designed for elementary school students, with easy access to full-text magazines, newspapers and reference books for information on current events, the arts, science, popular culture, health, people, government, history, sports and more.
  
• Professional Collection
  Full-text periodicals for teachers and school administrators.

Getting Started
From the library's webpage http://library.mwcc.edu click on Databases, and after choosing the appropriate on-campus or off-campus* access, click on the InfoTrac database title.

*Remember, off-campus access requires a valid library barcode number.

Searching

Keyword search (default search)
This search will look for your search terms in titles, citations and abstracts and display a list of articles.

Advanced search
Click on Advanced Search in the blue left margin to search using indexes of specific fields such as author, journal or title.

Limiting
Use the Limit functions below the search box to find only articles with text (full-text) or refereed (scholarly journal) articles, or articles published in particular journals or certain date ranges. (An existing search can be limited too: while viewing citations, click the Limit Search button in the blue left margin.)

Truncation
To find all words with the same root, use the asterisk as a truncator.
Example: school* finds school, schools, schooling, etc.

Viewing Search Results
Use the blue triangle-arrows to move through the pages of citations. To view full text articles click on the Text or PDF blue underlined links. To view a scanned image of the page (generally not preferable as it requires Adobe Acrobat software) click on PDF.

Note: If your article is not available full text, click on the Check other databases for Full Text link to see if there is full text coverage in a different database.

Other Search Tools

Links
While viewing the article, link to similar articles by scrolling down to subject headings or clicking on the Links button in the blue margin.

Dictionary
While viewing citations, use the Dictionary function, in the blue left margin, to check spelling and definitions.

Printing, Emailing or Downloading

One record at a time: Display full-text, if available, by clicking on blue underlined word Text.

Or

Several records at once: While viewing a list of citations, mark the records you wish to retrieve by clicking in the box beside the citation, or clicking the Mark all items option at the top of the result list. Click View mark list in the blue left margin to create and view a shorter list of your marked records.

Then …

• To Print: Click Print in the left margin. Note: in the MWCC Library, printing requires a copy card and costs 10¢ per page.
  
• To Email: Click on Email or Retrieval in the left margin. Enter your email address and an optional subject. Records will automatically be sent in full-text if available.
  
• To Download: Click File at the top of the browser, and go to Save as. [If using an MWCC lab computer, please be sure to save to your floppy disk in the a: drive since files saved to the c: drive will be erased when the computer is shut off.]
  

  If you need assistance, please ask at the Reference desk, call us at: (978) 630-9338 or, email us at: library@mwcc.mass.edu

Mt. Wachusett Community College Library
Updated 7/14/04