Biography reference bank database examples

The following tips are designed to assist you when searching the Biography Reference Bank database on the EBSCOhost interface.

Using Guided Style Advanced Search

If configured by your administrator, you can search Biography Reference Bank on EBSCOhost using multiple Find fields, known as the Guided Style. Guided Style searching allows you to simultaneously search for different terms in varying article citation fields. Click the Advanced Search link below the Find field to access the Advanced Search screen.

Simply enter a search term in the first Find field and then choose the search field from the optional Select a Field drop-down list (for example, search in only the Subject Terms field of the citation).

Guide your search using a second and third term and choose search fields to have EBSCOhost look within specific search criteria for your terms.

Select the AND or OR Boolean operators to limit or expand your results, respectively.

You can add up to twelve additional rows by clicking the Add Row link.

Limiters

The following limiters are available on the EBSCOhost search screens for the Biography Reference Bank database and can help you limit your searches depending on your search criteria:

• Birth Day (Month Day): Search for anyone based on when they were born. The following date patterns can be used in this limiter:

  • February
  • February 12
  • February 12 1809

  Notes:

  • The month must be spelled out in full in order to retrieve results.

  • If the birth day is a single digit number, it must be preceeded by a 0 (zero) in order to retrieve results.

    Example: April 3 must be entered as April 03.

• Lifespan: Search for anyone who was alive within a certain date range. From the Era drop-down, you can select b.c.e. (before common era) or c.e. (common era) or leave it blank. The default when unselected is c.e.

  Example: By entering a date range of 1929 c.e. to 1992 c.e., you limit your search resu

These databases can give you background information on almost any historical topic, no matter the place or time.

• Oxford Reference LibraryThis link opens in a new window

  Database of dictionaries, encyclopedias, and companions from Oxford University Press

  Full text of dictionaries, encyclopedias, and companions on a variety of subjects, purchased from Oxford University Press. Coverage is especially good in history, biology, environmental science, life sciences, literature, bilingual dictionaries, athletic training & health sciences, political science, and philosophy.
  
  These titles are also available through the OhioLINK Electronic Books Center.
• Biography Reference BankThis link opens in a new window

  Biographical information on approximately half a million people, from antiquity to the present

  Provides biographical information on approximately half a million people, from antiquity to the present, along with thousands of images. BRB offers substantive narrative profiles, each about 2,000 words long, from H.W. Wilson publications and other respected publishers.
  The biographies are searchable by name, profession, title, place of origin, gender, race/ethnicity, titles of works, date of birth, date of death, keyword, and presence of images. Daily updates provide up-to-the-minute coverage of newsmakers.
  
  Full-text articles, abstracts, and images gleaned from thousands of magazines and journals cover new names and expand on existing profiles. Book review excerpts and full text reviews help users find and select print biographies.