Making a big purchase? Read Consumer Reports at the Library

Getting ready to make a big purchase?  Maybe it’s a smaller purchase, but you want to be sure you pick the right one?   Consumer Reports has long been the place to go.  Stop by the Information Desk at either Kennedy or Westergard to locate the appropriate issue.

Need to access it from home?  We also have access to Consumer Reports articles through one of our databases – click here to access Academic Search Premier.

If you’re not used to databases, they can be a little tricky.  Keep scrolling for some quick tips on how to search:

this is a screenshot of the advanced search page on Academic Search Premier - it shows where the steps described below each take place

please read through the steps described below for an explanation

  1. make sure you’re on the Advanced Search screen
  2. enter your search terms in the search box at the top of the screen – being more succinct is probably better
  3. specify Consumer Reports as the publication you are interested in reviewing articles from
  4. limit the date range – if you’re buying a new washer, you don’t want washing machine reviews from 1998!
  5. you may also want to check the boxes for Apply related words and Also search within the full text of the articles to optimize your search results.

Bonus Step: click the Full Text checkbox to ensure that all your results are full articles – this ensures that no summaries or abstracts are included.  When searching only Consumer Reports, this may not matter too much, but if you want to explore other sources in Academic Search Premier, it may be an important step to keep in mind!

Is the item you’re looking for not reviewed in Consumer Reports?  Try thewirecutter.com

Still having trouble finding reviews?  Stop by the Information Desk at either building, or call the Library (scroll all the way town – our numbers are listed at the bottom of the page), and we can help you out.

Posted in Blog, For You.

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