General Information
While the four EBSCOhost databases covered in this guide have a particular searchable field that allows researchers to hone in on specific scripture passages, this doesn't mean that you can't locate relevant articles in databases that don't have this feature. This part of the guide will show you some methods that you can use in other databases.
All APU Databases can be accessed via the APU Libraries website by clicking on "All Databases."
Scripture Research Instructions
Subject Search
Many of the APU databases allow users to specify where the search terms entered will be found. The most common places are author, title and subject. If 'title' is chosen, the results list will be made up of only those items that have the search term(s) somewhere in the title. Likewise, when 'subject' is chosen, the search term(s) will show up somewhere in the subjects that are assigned to each item in the results list. Below, you'll find examples of this type of search that may help you find scripture-specific articles in databases that don't have 'scripture reference' as a choice. You can try this type of search in any database that you think might contain articles about particular Bible passages (not just the ones below).
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In this example, you will see another way of finding relevant articles by using the subject links within full records. In the results list of most APU databases, you are only seeing some of the information about each item. To access the full record (where you'll find subject links), simply click on the item title from the initial results list.
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In the graphic above, you see that 'corinthians' was entered into the first search box, and 'SU Subject Terms' was chosen from the drop-down menu. After performing the search, you'll notice a list of subject term links to the left. These terms are useful (see the note above), but they will only narrow your current results list. In this example, however, most of the subject links are too broad.
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Browse through the items in the results list and find one that is obviously an article relevant to the book of Corinthians.
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Click on the title of the item (the title should be a link). This will take you into the full record for this item.
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Look in the 'Subject Terms' section of the full record (see graphic below).
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There are two subject links that might provide articles on passages from 2nd Corinthians --- 'BIBLE. N.T. Epistles of Paul' and 'BIBLE. N.T. Corinthians, 2nd.' By clicking on a subject term link from within a full record, you will get a results list for everything in the database that contains the same subject link in the full record.
Title Search
With some databases, you might not get any results by trying a subject search (such as in ProQuest Religion, which is used in the example below). While a title search is not necessarily as precise as a subject search, it can often yield many relevant results.
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You will notice that ProQuest Religion does allow you to perform subject searches (in the drop-down menus, 'Subject' is an option). However, when 'corinthians' is entered and searched as a subject, there are no results. Instead, enter your Bible book and choose 'Document Title' from the drop-down menu (as you see in the example above). Perform the search.
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Browse through the results. When you see an item that's relevant, click on the title to get to the full record, and then see if there are any subject terms that might help you further.