About Databases

What is a Database?

"A research database contains reliable, accurate, and authoritative information gathered in one place, and provides quick and convenient access to the information" (Scituate Town Library, 2016).

Databases contain peer-reviewed sources, which are those articles that have already been reviewed and evaluated by experts before being published.

Types of Sources You Can Access:

  • Reference materials
  • Biographies
  • Experiments
  • Images
  • Audio/Video
  • Newspaper Articles
  • Academic Journals Articles/Reports
  • Popular and Scholarly Magazine Articles
  • Book Reports
  • And More!

Benefits of Using a Database:

  • Access to peer-reviewed sources: someone already took the time to evaluate them for you
  • Access to published information
  • Access to full-text articles and completed citations in multiple formats
  • Search produces results in multiple formats
  • Receive a more manageable list of results than with a Google search (and the results are more relevant0
  • Free and accessible from anywhere
  • Multidisciplinary- useful for all subjects