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- EDS: What am I searching?
EDS: What am I searching?
EBSCO Discovery Service - or EDS, for short - is a new research tool provided by the IU Kokomo Library. Access it from the "E" page of our Databases A-Z page, or by clicking the direct link here.
We've provided a few basic Q&As below to get you started, but please don't hesitate to Ask a Librarian if you have other questions. We're excited for you to use this tool and tell us what you think!
What is it?
EDS is a resource discovery tool that aggregates almost all of our Library resources. In other words, rather than searching IUCAT for books, Credo Reference for encyclopedias, and Academic Search Premier for peer-reviewed journal articles, you can do one search in EDS and receive results of all types - from journal and magazine articles to government documents to books and e-books.
Wherever possible, HTML and PDF full-text resources will be listed right on the results page. You might think of EDS as your one-stop source for Library research.
What does it do?
Technically-speaking, EDS provides a centralized index for much of our Library resources. Although this is an EBSCO product, your search results will include resources from outside of EBSCO.
Here are just a few of our Library resources that EDS searches:
- Academic Search Premier
- IUCAT (Library catalog)
- JSTOR
- Credo Reference
- CINAHL Plus with Full Text
- ScienceDirect
In addition to searching a large percentage of our resources with one shot, EDS returns your results quickly and ranks them according to relevancy. Overall, it's fast, it's powerful, and we think it will help you find resources for your research and assignments more efficiently and easily.
How is it different from other databases I've used?
EDS is basically a "super-database." Individual databases like CINAHL and JSTOR house their own content. These databases tend to be either subject- or type-specific. For example, CINAHL covers materials mostly relating to nursing and medicine. JSTOR provides scholarly articles for a variety of subjects, but what if you need a book? Or multimedia?
EDS is different because it searches almost ALL of these different types of databases. So if you don't know what types of resources you need yet or you just want to cast as wide of a net as possible, look to EDS. Moreover, all of our catalog records are included in EDS, so you can even search for books or A/V materials in EDS the way you may be accustomed to looking for such materials in IUCAT.
I can't figure out how to do something I could do before. Help?
We know EDS is new - it is for us, too! - and it may not be obvious how to do things with this tool versus others to which you have grown accustomed. We invite you to explore this resource, though, and ask us questions at any point in your research process.
Please also know that, despite how powerful it already is, EDS is still a work in progress. Expect to see several product enhancements over the coming months. If you identify a functionality that is currently missing or could be improved, e-mail us, and we'll be sure to pass your features requests along. Chances are, the features you think would be helpful would benefit others, as well.
Is EDS going to replace the subject-specific databases I already know and like?
No. We want you to use EDS, and we think it can be a powerful tool in your research processes. We want you to use it as much as possible, and give us lots of feedback along the way. But we are not planning to cancel any subject-specific databases simply because we now also have EDS. In fact, part of the reason EDS is so powerful is because of our subscriptions for other products. Think of this as an addition to our collection, not a replacement.
Last Updated: 27 August 2011
