New Testament and Old Testament Abstracts provide abstracts of journal articles, essays and books. There are no full-text articles available on these databases.
Quick Guide
Search Fields
You may enter keywords in each line as needed. Another option is to select a designated field value from the dropdown menu (e.g. author, title, subject).
Scripture searches
Select 'SC scripture citation' from the dropdown menu, and then enter a Bible book and/or chapter. Another strategy is to browse the Scripture index to find articles, and then click on the checkboxes next to the desired entries.
Search Strategies
You may combine terms in a search using Boolean operators and, or and not.
And: combines search terms so that the search result contains both terms. This operator narrows the search result.
Or: combines search terms so that each result contains at least one of the terms. This operator broadens the search result.
Not: excludes terms so the result do not contain any of the terms disallowed. This operator narrows the search result.
Note: When executing a search, And takes precedence over Or.
Viewing Results
Your search results display in a box below the search fields. The middle column shows the article titles. The left-hand column offers options to narrow your search. The right-hand column displays more detail for each result entry.
Magnifying glass icon: click to see the abstract for the article.
Folder icon: click to add the article to your folder list.
Note: you must have a personal account to save folders between sessions.
Click on a title to bring up detailed information about the article. On this page, you have the option to print, email, or save your article.
Personal Account
Click on the 'Sign in to EBSCOhost' link from the top right-hand bar of the Search Screen.
From the Sign-In Screen, click the 'I’m a new user' link. The Create a New Account Screen appears with Personal Account entered in the Account Type field.
Fill in all the fields on the following screen. If all the information was accepted, a message appears that provides your username and password. Click OK. Please note your username and password so you can login for future sessions.
EBSCO uses your personal information only to identify you at login. Click on their privacy policy for more information.
Folders
Click on the Add to Folder icon to add an article to a folder. To add all items on a page to your folder, click Add (1-10) a the top of the Add column. Result numbers to be added will change as you page through the list of results.
As you add the articles to the folder, you can click the Folder icon and review which items have been added. You can then print, email or save these results.
If you have signed in via My EBSCOhost, any search results that you collect in your folder will be automatically saved at the end of the session.
Visual Search
The Visual Search is a new option available on EBSCO databases. It displays your search results in a visual format, either by column or in blocks. To get to this new type of display, click the Visual Search option found at the bottom of the search screen.
Results Screen in Visual Search
Results Sorting Options - To see different ways to group, sort, or filter your search, click any of the buttons above the Result List. You can select these options at any time – before you run your search, or after, when you are viewing your results.
Group Results – You can group by Subject or by Publication Name.
Sort Results – You can sort the results by Date (newest to oldest), or by Relevance (articles with the greatest relevance at the top of the list; those with the least relevance at the bottom of the list).
Filter Results by Date – Move the Date Range slider to filter from the newest articles to the oldest.
Display Style – Switch between the Blocks or Columns view at any time.
Visual Search Folders
You may ‘drag and drop’ articles into the Collect Articles box on the right-hand column of the results page. Then click View Folders to see your selected articles.
Online help is available, but ask a staff member for help anytime. Or contact
Reference Librarian Marsha Blake for a consultation: library@wts.edu or (215) 935–3880.
Montgomery Library
Westminster Theological Seminary
www.wts.edu
(215) 572–3821
