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The Basics - CPI.Q.

The CPI.Q. database is a 'subject' based database, organizing all the results from your search into categories. This can be a very useful feature when using this database to evaluate your search results and keyword selection. Periodical articles and resources are organized specifically for the topic and sub-topics you are searching and are presented with the number of articles within each sub-topic displayed for you. The results from CPI.Q. can be limited to show only articles with Full text, only peer-reviewed, must have images, or can be limited to a specific date or publication.

How do I get started?
How do I do a search with CPI.Q.?
What’s available for younger students?
What are the copyright rules?
How do I cite?
How can I search within a single periodical?
What are the help features?

How do I get started?

To get started with CPI.Q. you must first access the database from your District Database Launch page. This will take you to the Subject Search page, which will help you narrow your search terms. Enter in your Keywords for your search and limit by Full-text and any other search criteria you need. The results you see are the subject areas organized for you to narrow your results even further. When you click on a subject area that accurately represents what you are searching, then the first page of results shows resources related to your search combined with many useful features to help you narrow the number of results. Along the top of your results, you can narrow your results to just Academic Journals, Magazines, Books, News, or Multimedia. Along the left hand side of your search, you can narrow your results based on these 'Formats' based on more specific topics.

How do I do a search with CPI.Q.?

Video Demo

What’s available for younger students?

CPI.Q. is a Periodical database and is therefore inherently useful for all students to read and use local newspapers from your own community in BC. Younger students can read and learn about events and issues and include these resources in their research to provide some local flavour. When using the Advanced Search, you can limit the results by Lexile score to keep the reading level appropriate for your audience. When searching using the Publication Search, you can limit the results to only Elementary Periodicals.

What are the copyright rules?

Like World Book Online, Encyclopedia of BC, and EBSCOhost, CPI.Q. these products are available for use in classrooms and from home for all staff and students of all participating districts and schools.

• Users may download or print limited copies of citations, abstracts, full text or portions which must be cited accordingly.
• Any printouts or digital copies are for personal use and may not be published, distributed or sold.

How do I cite?

When you find an article that you plan on using as part of your research, at the bottom of the article is a "Source Citation:" section that students can just copy and paste from when using in their Works Cited list. If the student needs a citation in a format other than MLA, then they can click on the "Citation Tools" in the right hand toolbox.

How can I search within a single periodical?

When you want to limit your search to a specific periodical, you need to expand the "More Search Options" on the basic search page, and then click on the "Browse Publication Title". You can browse through the Title list of periodicals selecting up to 10 to search within, or you can do a title search for the specific periodical you want to search. For example, typing in "globe and mail" will bring up the "Globe & Mail (Toronto, Canada)" result, allowing you to search just that newspaper for articles relating to your Keyword Search. You can further limit the results to only Full-text, or only with images.

What are the help features?

CPI.Q. has a website available with instructions, tutorials, tips, and guides on how to use their database more effectively. You can access this help section by clicking on the "help" link along the top toolbar.

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