Database Evaluation: Academic Search Complete (EBSCOhost)

1. User & Purpose

• Target audience: Undergraduates, graduate students, and general researchers.
• Research purpose: Ideal for course assignments, introductory research projects, and general subject exploration.
• Experience level: Very novice-friendly; simple interface and tutorials make it easy to learn.
• Intended outcomes: Excellent for background information and scholarly sources. Limited for highly technical or data-driven research.
✅ Overall: Best suited for early-stage research and interdisciplinary exploration.

2. Subject Area Fit

• Primary disciplines: Broad, multidisciplinary — humanities, social sciences, STEM, business, education, and health sciences.
• Interdisciplinary coverage: Very strong; overlaps across nearly all academic programs.
• Curriculum relevance: Supports general education and introductory coursework across departments.
✅ Overall: Highly relevant for core undergraduate curricula and library instruction.

3. Type & Format of Materials

• Formats included: Peer-reviewed journals, magazines, newspapers, reports, conference papers, and eBooks (linked via EBSCO eBook collections). Some images and audio-visual content are available but limited.
• Level of detail: Mix of general and applied content with some scholarly/technical materials.
✅ Overall: Excellent variety of material formats, making it a strong general-purpose research tool.

4. Scope & Coverage

• Date range: 1887–present; heavy coverage since 1990s.
• Geographic coverage: Global, with emphasis on North America and Europe.
• Language coverage: Primarily English, though includes some multilingual journals.
• Update frequency: Updated daily.
✅ Overall: Broad coverage and current indexing ensure reliability for general research.

5. Quality & Authority

• Publisher/vendor: EBSCO Information Services (highly reputable academic vendor).
• Peer review: Over 10,000 peer-reviewed journals included.
• Editorial oversight: Extensive metadata and indexing via EBSCO’s controlled vocabularies and subject headings.
• Indexing quality: Excellent; supports Boolean, field searching, and subject term filtering.
✅ Overall: High credibility and indexing accuracy; one of the most authoritative multidisciplinary indexes.

6. Technical Level & Accessibility

• Reading level: Accessible to undergraduates and non-specialists.
• Specialized features: Citation tools, export to citation managers, full-text linking, subject term thesaurus.
• Accessibility: Complies with Section 508; offers text-to-speech for HTML articles and screen-reader compatibility.
✅ Overall: Very accessible and user-friendly.

7. Access & Usability

• Authentication: Available via campus network or MyEbsco Account.
• Interface: Simple, intuitive EBSCOhost layout.
• Mobile compatibility: Fully mobile responsive.
• Citation tools: Export to EndNote.
✅ Overall: Excellent usability and remote access support.

8. Popularity & Demand

• Usage statistics: Consistently among top-used databases in most academic libraries.
• Course integration: Frequently recommended for general research, composition, and interdisciplinary assignments.
• Faculty/student feedback: Positive for ease of use; sometimes viewed as too broad for upper-level research.
• Duplication: Overlaps somewhat with ProQuest’s Research Library.
✅ Overall: High student satisfaction and instructional value.

9. Cost & Value

• Licensing: Annual subscription via EBSCO.
• Price vs. use: Excellent return on investment due to high usage across disciplines.
• Support: Strong vendor support, tutorials, and promotional materials.
✅ Overall: High value for the cost.

10. Institutional Alignment

• Supports institutional mission: Yes — promotes broad research literacy and information access.
• Matches research priorities: Ideal for undergraduate teaching and interdisciplinary inquiry.
• Integration: Works seamlessly with Primo, LibGuides, and Ask Digby search widgets.
• Sustainability: Long-term core database; very stable.
✅ Overall: Strong fit for Devereaux Library and SD Mines’ teaching-focused mission.

Summary Rating

Recommendation

Academic Search Complete is essential for first-year instruction, interdisciplinary research, and general information literacy training. Pair it with specialized subject databases (e.g., IEEE Xplore, GeoRef, ProQuest Materials Science) for advanced or technical disciplines. Maintain as a core multidisciplinary resource.