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Online Resources: Gale Academic OneFile

Learn about the library's online resources: what types of sources they contain, search strategies, and unique features.

About Gale

Gale Academic OneFile Databases

Gale Academic OneFile "provides provides millions of articles from over 19,000 scholarly journals and other authoritative sources—including thousands of podcasts and transcripts from NPR and CNN as well as videos from BBC Worldwide Learning."

Accessing Gale

Do I have to log in?

If you are using a campus computer or campus WiFi, you should be able to directly access the resource. If you are off-campus, you will be prompted to log in using your Single Sign-On username and password. Contact the library if you have any problems accessing the resource.

Searching in Gale

The opening screen of Gale gives you several options, including Topic Finder and Subject Guide Search.  But you can start a basic search by putting your search term(s) in the search box near the top of the page and clicking on the magnifying glass.

 

  • You can use Boolean Operators (AND, OR, & NOT) between search terms to refine your search.
    • AND will look for results that contain both search terms used. Games AND violence will only pull up results that contain both of those terms within the same source.
    • OR will look for results that have either term. So a search of Games OR violence will result in sources on games and sources on violence.
    • NOT will remove results with the term following the NOT operator. So Games NOT Violence should result in sources that contain information on games but remove the sources that include the term "violence".
  • To search for an exact phrase enclose the search terms with quotation marks (“ “).
  • Wildcards may be used
    • Use an asterisk (*) to replace multiple characters (ex. class* will search for class, classes, classroom)
    • Use a question mark (?) to replace 1 character (ex. psych????y finds psychiatry and psychology, but not psychotherapy)
    • Use an exclamation point for one or no characters (colo!r finds color and colour)

This short video is an overview of searching in Gale, including how to use some of the limiting features to narrow your results.

 

Using Gale: Search Results and Unique Features


The results screen will look similar to what is shown above. If you haven’t already done so, one of the first things you may want to do is filter your results to documents with "full text" (see section C in the image above). This will make sure that you can access the complete document and not just the abstract (a summary).

In the screenshot above, the results are all within Magazines. To look at the results in Academic Journals, Books, or any of the other source types simply click on the source desired (see section A above). The number in parentheses to the right of the type of source is the number of results within that source type (for example, there are over 35,000 books covering this topic).

 

Here are some ways to alter the results you are getting in the results list:

 

A)  Select the type of publication you want (academic journals are typically more scholarly than magazines and some other publication types)

B)  The results are sorted by the publication date with the newest first. You can change this by selecting another condition in the drop-down box. ‘Relevance’ will put the results most closely related to your search at the top.          

C)  You can limit your results to the results that match the criteria in the right column. "Subjects:" offers a breakdown of different subject areas your topic could refer to. Document Types divide the results by the type of document – book reviews, articles, reports, etc. "Publication Titles" allows you to narrow your results to those found in a specific publication (i.e. a particular journal, newspaper, etc.). You can also limit your search to a specific date or date range here.

D)  Clicking on the title of the result will take you to the full-text version of the document.

With the Get Link icon at the top of the page, Get link icon a box will pop up with a permalink that can be copied.

 

Gale offers several unique tools and features that can help you with your research:

  • Topic Finder (appears both on the home page and in the right column of your results page): will introduce you to keywords and other topics related to your search. This can help you choose a topic, investigate related topics, and narrow or expand your current search.
  • Cite (appears in the right column of your document page): click this button to copy and paste the document citation into your References page. Make sure you have opened the correct tab, APA 6th Edition. 
  • Highlights and Notes (appears in the right column of your document page): you can highlight or annotate a document. You can download, e-mail, or print the document, and all of your highlights and notes will appear at the very bottom. You can also access your highlights and notes from the Results list page by clicking the Highlights and Notes button.

How to cite a database reference

**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.

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.

In Credo, either use the citation tool at the top of the page or find the APA citation following each entry.

credo cite tool

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:

credo APA citation screenshot

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 has a Citation tool available both on the Detail Page and in the Reader view of the ebook. Ebook central cite book tool screenshot       Ebook Central Cite tool in read online

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

Ebook Central Citation tool example

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.

 

 

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.

ebsco APA citation

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 does have a Citation tool available directly below the video frame. 

FOD tools cite highlighted

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:

Films on Demand incorrect citation from tool

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.

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

 

Gale tools with cite  circled

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.

 

Using Gale's Microsoft sign in

There is an option to use OneDrive with both Gale and Opposing Viewpoints. Use the Microsoft sign in button located at the top, far right of the page.

You will be directed to a page where you will enter your Central Penn email to login. The first time you do this you will be asked to give permission to allow access to your Microsoft profile and OneDrive files.

Utilizing this options allows you to take advantage of some additional tools.

Once you find an article you like you can highlight and take notes in that article and then save it to your OneDrive for easier retrieval in the future. To do this Click the Send To option (paper airplane icon) that appears in the Tools menu.

A box will pop up asking where you would like to send the document--choose OneDrive.

A confirmation box will pop up saying it will appear in OneDrive shortly.

Go to your OneDrive in Office 365.

In OneDrive you will see folders for Opposing Viewpoints and Academic OneFile.

folders in OneDrive

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Open the folder to see your documents. Your highlights will still be there and your notes will appear at the end of the document.

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.

Library Director