Online Resources: Home
What is in this guide
Use the tabs at the top of the guide to find information specific to each online resource.
About our Online Resources
The library offers a variety of subscription databases available for use by all students, faculty and staff at Central Penn College.
Off-campus access is available for all resources.
Clicking on the tabs above will take you to pages about each individual resource/database. Each of those pages has a link to access the resource--just click on the resource name (see picture below).
If you are accessing from off-campus, you will see the Single Sign-On screen--just enter your school email address and usual password.
You can also access the resources via Blackboard and from the library's website.
From Blackboard click Library Resources in the Student Resources box, and then click Library online resources in the Quick Links area of the Library guide homepage.
If you need help using these databases or are having trouble accessing these resources, please contact a librarian for assistance.
Which Resources Should I Use?
Central Penn's Library subscribes to both general and subject-specific resources and databases. Please see the list below to help you determine which resource(s) you should use, depending on what information you're looking for.
We also have a Types of Sources Tutorial which goes into greater detail.
| Looking for: | Try: |
| Background Information | Credo, Ebook Central |
| Journal Articles | EBSCOhost, Gale |
| Current social issues | Opposing Viewpoints |
| Documentary films | Films on Demand |
| Business information | Business Insights: Global |
| Medical/Health care information | CINAHL, PubMed |
| Legal/Paralegal | Westlaw |
How do I Save my Research?
There are a number of ways to keep track of your research. You can use a commercial tool like RefWorks , use a freely available online tool like Zotero, or even use a document in Microsoft Word (there is a References tab at the top). Several of the library online resources have tools that allow you to save the entire article to your Microsoft OneDrive or Google Drive account. However you save your research, it is recommended that you always save the citation of the item you are looking at in the citation style that you are going to use in your final product. This saves you a LOT of time later on. The library online resources have tools that make it easy to copy and past citations in the correct style. See the How do I cite something from a database? box below to see where those tools are for our online resources.
If in addition to the citation you have been asked to include the link to the resource by your professor save the permalink or bookmark, not the URL in your address bar. Then save your document as a pdf. There is a known issue with hyperlinks in Microsoft Office products (Word, PowerPoint, Excel) when using a Single Sign On product (my.centralpenn).
- Business Insights: Global click the Share button and copy the bookmark URL from the box that pops up
- Credo - click the permalink icon on the page you would like to share, then copy the URL from the box that pops up.
- Ebook Central - from the book information page click Share Link to Book and copy the URL from the box that pops up
If you want to share a link to a specific part of the book, open the book to that page and then click the link icon in the toolbar above
- Ebsco - click the permalink icon in the tools bar, then copy the permalink from the box that pops up
- Gale/Opposing Viewpoints - click the Get Link icon at the top of the page, then copy the URL from the box that pops up
How do I cite something from a database?
**When using a generated citation, you must double check it for accuracy! It’s not unusual for a database to have an error in a citation!**
Database information is typically not included in most references because sources can be found in multiple platforms. The goal of a citation is to allow the reader to find the source, not to tell them how to find the source. Meaning a particular article may be found in Ebsco, or Gale, on the publisher's website. Database information is only included if they have "original, proprietary content and works of limited circulation" (Business Insights, Proquest dissertations & theses, Cochrane database of systematic reviews). URLs are usually not included because the reader would need to login to access the source, but your professor may request that you include them.
- Business Insights This link opens in a new window
Your business intelligence resource containing case studies, statistical data sources, news articles, academic journals, and other material organized by country, company and industry.
The citation tool above results in this for an article:
Peters, R., & Quinn, M. (2018). Agrowtopia: Cultivating Community, Consciousness and Capital on Campus. Journal of Case Studies, 36(3). Retrieved from https://bi.gale.com/global/article/GALE|A597895516/48398b0d65e763958fb4d0e51125f445?u=centpenn_itc1#
The correct citation will not include the database information because the article can be found in other databases or through an online search. If there were a DOI, the DOI url would be included. If there were page numbers, they would be included after the issue number. Since there isn't a DOI, or page numbers, and the URL would take the reader to a login page the URL is not included. The reference ends after the volume number.
Peters, R., & Quinn, M. (2018). Agrowtopia: Cultivating community, consciousness and capital on campus. Journal of Case Studies, 36(3).
In Business Insights there is a good chance you will be retrieving items that are not articles, but reports and other data. These sources do not have the citation tool option. These reports might not be found elsewhere so the name of the database is included, along with the retrieval date if they update over time and are not archived.
Author. (Year, Month day of publication). Title of the report [Type of report]. Database name.
OR, if the content updates and you should include the retrieval date:
Author. (Year, Month day of publication). Title of the report [Type of report]. Retrieved date, from Database name.
For example:
GlobalData. (2019, March). Starbucks Corp - Financial and strategic analysis review. Business Insights.
New Constructs. (2022, February 19). Meta Platforms Inc. (FB) [Investment report]. Retrieved March 11, 2022, from Business Insights.
Starbucks Corp. [Company profile]. (2019). Business Insights. Retrieved February 13, 2020, from Business Insights.
McDonald's Corp. (2020). [McDonald's Corp. interim - last 5 periods Income statement]. Retrieved February 18, 2020, from Business Insights.
** When using a generated citation, you must double check it for accuracy! It’s not unusual for a database to have an error in a citation!**
Database information is not included in most references because sources can be found in multiple platforms. The goal of a citation is to allow the reader to find the source, not to tell them how to find the source. Meaning a particular article may be found in Ebsco, or Gale, on the publisher's website. Database information is only included if they have "original, proprietary content and works of limited circulation" (Proquest dissertations & theses, Cochrane database of systematic reviews). URLs are not included because the reader would need to login to access the source.
- Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
A great place to start your research. Credo provides 24/7 access to general reference works (dictionaries & encyclopedias) as well as charts and images. Among other tools there are thousands of topic pages to assist research by highlighting additional resources provided by the library.
In Credo, either use the citation tool at the top of the page or find the APA citation following each entry.
Copy and paste the citation, and then make any necessary corrections.
This is how a citation from a reference work is generally structured.
Author's last name, First initial. Middle initial. (Year). Title of entry. In Title of reference work (edition). Publisher name.
This is what the copied citation looks like using the citation tools in Credo:
Almost correct, but it does not need the URL in 7th edition APA. This is how it should look:
Posluszny, D., Spencer, S., & Baum, A. (2007). Post-traumatic stress disorder. In S. Ayers, A. Baum, C. McManus, & et. al. (Eds.), Cambridge handbook of psychology, health and medicine (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
The following example, is if there is no author.
Hormone therapy. (2016). In Merriam Webster's Medical Dictionary. Merriam-Webster.
** When using a generated citation, you must double check it for accuracy! It’s not unusual for a database to have an error in a citation!**
Database information is not included in most references because sources can be found in multiple platforms. The goal of a citation is to allow the reader to find the source, not to tell them how to find the source. Meaning a particular article may be found in Ebsco, or Gale, on the publisher's website. Database information is only included if they have "original, proprietary content and works of limited circulation" (Proquest dissertations & theses, Cochrane database of systematic reviews). URLs are not included because the reader would need to login to access the source.
- Ebook Central This link opens in a new window
Ebook Central offers full-text access to thousands of books. In your personal bookshelf, you may customize your content by adding notes and highlighting text. Use your Blackboard account information to log into your personal bookshelf.
Ebook Central has a Citation tool available both on the Detail Page and in the Reader view of the ebook. 
Book and ebook citations are treated the same. They require the following elements: author(s), year of publication, book title, book edition (if applicable), and publisher name. Ebook Central does not need to be listed as the database.
Author's last name, initials. (year of publication). Title of book: With only capitalization of first word of title and subtitle and any proper nouns. Publisher. DOI or URL
Change the format in the drop-down box to APA. The citation ends after the publisher's name because there is no DOI and the URL will not work without logging in. "Dark Knight" is one of Batman's most well-known nicknames, and the name Batman is also a proper noun, so all three words should be capitalized. You also don't need to include the business structure information (Limited). The corrected citation is:
Brooker, W. (2012). Hunting the Dark Knight: Twenty-first century Batman. I.B. Tauris & Company.
**When using a generated citation, you must double check it for accuracy! It’s not unusual for a database to have an error in a citation!**
Database information is not included in most references because sources can be found in multiple platforms. The goal of a citation is to allow the reader to find the source, not to tell them how to find the source. Meaning a particular article may be found in Ebsco, or Gale, on the publisher's website. Database information is only included if they have "original, proprietary content and works of limited circulation" (Proquest dissertations & theses, Cochrane database of systematic reviews). URLs are usually not included because the reader would need to login to access the source.
- EBSCOhost This link opens in a new window
EBSCOhost Web is our most powerful periodicals database, offering the most full text access to scholarly journals, magazines, news articles and e-books.
When you click the Cite tool button the popup screen provides citations in a variety of styles. Scroll down to find the APA citation. Copy & paste it into your paper and then correct it for 7th edition style if necessary. Articles should follow this format:
Author's last name, first initial. middle initial. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume#(issue#), pages-pages. DOI or URL
In the example below, the first word of the subtitle (after the colon) should be capitalized, but the 'of' in the Journal title should not be.
Corrected citation:
Dury, R. (2016). COPD and emotional distress: Not always noticed and therefore untreated. British Journal of Community Nursing, 21(3), 138–141. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjcn.2016.21.3.138
Business reports are treated differently because these reports might not be found elsewhere; in this situation the name of the database is included. If the information updates over time and is not be archived, include the retrieval date.
Author. (Year, Month day of publication). Title of the report [Type of report]. Database name.
OR, if the content updates and you should include the retrieval date:
Author. (Year, Month day of publication). Title of the report [Type of report]. Retrieved date, from Database name.
Citation example of corrected MarketLine report in Business Source Premier:
MarketLine. (2019, October 28). Company profile: Netflix, Inc. Business source Premier.
[You'll find the date on the first page of the PDF, bottom left.]
**When using a generated citation, you must double check it for accuracy! It’s not unusual for a database to have an error in a citation!**
Database information is not included in most references because sources can be found in multiple platforms. The goal of a citation is to allow the reader to find the source, not to tell them how to find the source. Meaning a particular article may be found in Ebsco, or Gale, on the publisher's website. Database information is only included if they have "original, proprietary content and works of limited circulation" (Proquest dissertations & theses, Cochrane database of systematic reviews). URLs are not included because the reader would need to login to access the source.
- Films On Demand This link opens in a new window
Films On Demand is a Web-based digital video delivery service that allows you to view streaming videos from Films Media Group anytime, anywhere, 24/7! Choose from thousands of high-quality educational titles in dozens of subject areas.
Films on Demand does have a Citation tool available directly below the video frame.
HOWEVER--Films on Demand citations for APA are usually incomplete and should not include a URL (APA citations should only have a retrieval date if the content might change).
You can start with the citation from Films on Demand, but you will need to correct it and finish it yourself with help from a style guide, a librarian, and/or your professor.
Here is an example citation from a Films on Demand video:
As you can see, the video director or producer is missing. However, that information is easily available in the database.
In the image below you can see, in the Details section, that the video producer is Java Films.
A correct APA citation for this film would be:
Java Films (Producer). (2014). The mobile revolution [Video].
Many videos in Films on Demand are divided into segments, and sometimes you might only use a segment in a project/presentation.
To cite a segment: Add the segment name and number to the citation
Java Films (Producer). (2014). Disruptive technology [segment 13]. In The mobile revolution [Video].
**When using a generated citation, you must double check it for accuracy! It’s not unusual for a database to have an error in a citation!**
Database information is not included in most references because sources can be found in multiple platforms. The goal of a citation is to allow the reader to find the source, not to tell them how to find the source. Meaning a particular article may be found in Ebsco, or Gale, on the publisher's website. Database information is only included if they have "original, proprietary content and works of limited circulation" (Proquest dissertations & theses, Cochrane database of systematic reviews). URLs are not included because the reader would need to login to access the source.
- Gale Academic OneFile This link opens in a new window
This collection of databases contains extensive coverage in business, physical sciences, information science and technology, medicine, terrorism, criminal justice and much more.
Articles should follow this basic format:
Author's last name, first initial. middle initial. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume#(issue#), pages-pages. DOI or URL
This is the citation that Gale displays:
Volkow, N. D., & Blanco, C. (2020). Medications for opioid use disorders: clinical and pharmacological considerations. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 130(1), 10+. Retrieved from https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A612694392/AONE?u=centpenn_itc1&sid=AONE&xid=64436e81.
It should be:
Volkow, N. D., & Blanco, C. (2020). Medications for opioid use disorders: Clinical and pharmacological considerations. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 130(1), 10-13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1172/JCI134708
The page numbers indicated (10+) weren't correct. Downloading the article you are able to find the page range on the PDF, and there was a doi provided.
Chat with a Librarian
Contact the Library
The Library is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday from 10AM - 5PM and Wednesday from 1PM - 8PM.
If you need help from the librarian or need to access the library resources outside of those hours let us know!
Call or text 717-728-2500 or email Library@centralpenn.edu to make an appointment.
Remember the Learning Hub is also open with lots of great faculty and staff willing to help with tutoring, advising, and general questions.