Types of resources available:
Scholarly/Academic journal articles
Magazine articles
Newspaper articles
Reference books
eBooks
Videos/Audio recordings
Cost:
Many databases require a subscription through a school or library.
Select free databases listed here.
Credibility:
The publishers of the database/publications review all sources for credibility.
Databases are regularly updated.
"Search-ability":
Databases allow you to refine your search results with a variety of filters including result type, publication date, and subject.
Types of resources available:
Popular web sites
Commercial web sites
Educational web sites
Government web sites
Statistics
Organizational web sites
News websites
Cost:
Search engines provide their service at no cost to the user.
Search engines make a profit by including sponsored advertisements in their search results.
Credibility:
Search engines do not evaluate their sources for credibility.
Some search engines will allow websites to pay to show their results first, even if they are not the most reliable or relevant.
Many search results are not updated regularly.
"Search-ability":
Search engines often present you with an overwhelming number of results that you must filter through yourself.
Databases are much easier to navigate and provide more relevant and reliable resources. However, search engines can also be useful for finding information on current events, governments, organizations, statistics, popular culture, and more. It remains essential that wherever you choose to look for information, you are constantly and critically evaluating sources for their reliability.