CORE Library Blog

If you struggle to understand how to structure a successful library search … if Boolean operators are baffling … try the library's new Natural Language Search!  With the flip of a switch, you can type in queries like you would if you were searching Google or other search engines.  You can use natural, everyday conversational language instead of complicated strings of keywords and operators.

1. Traditional Library Search (Using Keywords & Boolean Operators):

• Search Query: autism AND emdr AND adolescents

• In this case, the search is using the Boolean operator "AND" to combine the three keywords (autism, emdr, adolescents). This limits the search results to articles that contain all three terms, but requires the user to know the appropriate keywords and operators.

2. Natural Language Search:

• Search Query: What are the effects of EMDR on adolescents with autism?

• In a natural language search, the query is phrased like a question or sentence, using everyday language. The search engine or database interprets the intent behind the query and looks for relevant results without needing Boolean operators or specific keywords.

Natural language searching uses artificial intelligence.  When a search is executed using Natural Language Search mode, the query is sent to a Large Language Model (LLM). This model interprets the natural language input and EBSCO’s search capability generates relevant search results based on the AI's understanding. Importantly, no user data is stored or used for training the AI, maintaining privacy and security throughout the process (Ebsco, 2025)

If you’re working on an assignment that asks you to select a screening tool and determine its reliability and validity for a population or condition, the CORE Library has created a research guide to help you confidently evaluate screening and assessment tools.  Designed for students who are new to evaluating research and statistical language, this resource breaks down key psychometric terms and explains how to recognize these concepts in research articles—even if you're new to reading validation studies. The guide also includes tips for finding validation studies in the library and a writing template to help you summarize your findings clearly and professionally. Bookmark this resource—it’s designed to support you in any course where you're selecting or writing about tools used in clinical and behavioral health settings.

Guide:  How to Evaluate Screening Tools: A Guide to Reliability, Validity, and Writing About Evidence

Refining a research question and finding the right database for your research just got easier! Our custom ChatGPT-powered Research Assistant helps you select the best databases for your topic, suggests MeSH terms for searching, and even refines your research question. Enter your question, and it can guide you in structuring it using PICO or suggest alternative frameworks to strengthen your approach. Try it now and make your research process more efficient!

Managing research can quickly become overwhelming with so many articles, books, and sources to keep track of. Zotero simplifies this process by serving as a fno-cost, user-friendly tool for organizing references, generating citations, and collaborating with others. It allows you to save and categorize sources directly from your browser, sync your library across devices, and create bibliographies in seconds. Whether you’re working solo or in a group, Zotero keeps your research structured and accessible. To explore its full potential and get started, visit zotero.org to download the desktop application, or review the Guide to Zotero from the CORE Library.  This downloadable guide contains tips for configuring and using Zotero.

📢 Attention Students! Introducing our newest research guide tailored to help you excel in course assignments requiring executive summaries and abstracts. Whether you're tackling business reports or academic papers, this resource equips you with essential strategies to craft concise and impactful summaries....and to understand the differences between the two types of writing.  Visit the Executive Summary or Abstract Research Guide for more information.

Introducing our new Research Guide: "Formatting Resources for APA-Style Papers." This guide offers valuable resources for formatting various sections of an APA-formatted paper, focusing on leveraging common software applications to achieve the necessary styles. While it doesn't replicate APA manual requirements, it equips users with step-by-step instructions for utilizing software like Microsoft Word or Google Docs to adapt formatting to specific needs.  The guide includes step-by-step formatting instructions and diagrams and includes a video that explains how to turn headings in Microsoft Word into APA level headings, and then how to use those to generate a table of contents automatically.

It's not too early to be looking at the textbooks you'll need for Summer courses!

The Master Textbook List for your program contains citations for each book needed in a course.  If you see a book icon next to the ISBN number, that means there is a copy on reserve in the library that can be checked out for two hours at a time.  Because publishers do allow you to print or save pages from the book when using it, it's a great idea to begin checking out the book well in advance to download chapters.  The amount of pages allowed by each publisher can vary widely -- from as few as 15 during a single checkout to as many as 100.  

Recall that the APA Manual, 7th Edition, is a required textbook for each course.

EBSCO, which provides the CORE Library's eBooks, has announced a new mobile app to download and read EBSCO eBooks.  The app is available on iOS Devices, available in Apple App Store, and on Android devices, available in Google Play Store.

To use the app:

Download from the appropriate app store.

You'll need to connect the app to your CORE LIbrary account.  Directions can be found in this printable guide.

A video tutorial is available below.

In three short weeks, the Fall 2021 term will begin!  What better way to warm up your brain for learning than with a haiku challenge?  The CORE Library challenges all students (new or returning) and faculty to create an original haiku that reflects your thoughts on returning to school, teaching and learning online learning, meeting new classmates, or anything related to academics.

The winning entry will receive at $20 DoorDash gift certificate, courtesy of the CORE Library.

Guidelines:

You may submit up to three original haiku.

All entries must be a true haiku with 5 syllables on 1^st line, 7 syllables on 2^nd line, and 5 syllables on the 3^rd line.

All haikus must be the sole, original work of the entrant. 

All haiku must be submitted using the online entry form.

Deadline:  All submissions must be received by 11:59 pm PST on Wednesday, September 8, 2021.

Submissions will be judged by the staff in the Electronic Campus department, which includes the Library, Writing Center, Canvas, and Help Desk.

The winning entry will be posted on the home page of the CORE Library and as an announcement in the Canvas learning management system.   You have the choice to have your entry posted with no name, but why not be famous? :-)

Contact the CORE Library if you have questions (library@cgi.edu). 

This week, I'm attending the Online Learning Consortium's 2021 Innovate Conference.  One of the cool features of this conference is a virtual "sanctuary" featuring mindfulness resources.  They include videos, Spotify playlists, app recommendations, and more.  These resources have been added to our own virtual refuge here at the CORE Library -- a Mindfulness page.

We welcome any recommendations you have for additional resources, and hope that the ones on this page can provide you with a brief respite from your studies.