Database Searching

In Information Sources you began expanding your search from Google to your library’s academic resources. Once you’ve gained a broad overview of your topic using the library catalog, you are ready to explore more deeply using research databases.

Databases

Databases are used by libraries to organize and access electronic materials from published works. When you search a database you are searching within publications that have been made available electronically. Unlike what you might find on the Web, materials found in the library’s research databases have gone through the publication process, so you can be confident that the information is reliable.

What information are you searching with a database? A database searches within publications that the library subscribes to. Search results might include the full text or abstracts of materials, such as articles from journals and magazines, book chapters, images and statistics.

What research task is this information source good for? Use databases to look for more specific, in-depth information on your topic such as literary criticism or empirical studies.

Looking More Closely:

Your library may have hundreds of different research databases that are available for you to search. So how do you decide which one to use? Consider what subject area your topic falls under. While some databases cover a wide range of topics, others include materials that are focused on a certain discipline. There are also some databases that contain materials of a certain format, like newspapers, e-books or dissertations.

Take a moment to locate the University Libraries databases and take note of how they are organized. You will be looking at the databases more closely at the end of this quest. 

Now let’s take a closer look inside a research database (Make sure the cc button is turned on). 

Looking at a list of the library’s research databases, explore a topic that you are researching or working on in class. Document your findings using the Database Searching Worksheet.  (Click below to open in Google, then click File-->Download As-->Microsoft Word (.docx).