Why should you use library databases?
Besides “my instructor told me to”, there are many benefits to using library databases for your research.
Once you have determined your research questions and brainstormed keywords, it is time to start searching for sources.
The library provides access to lots of databases where you can find articles, journals, newspapers, magazines, eBooks, book chapters, and reference sources (such as encyclopedias, quick introductions to a topic, and dictionaries).
Databases are hosted by different vendors (such as ProQuest or EBSCO), similar to how specific TV shows or movies are hosted by different streaming services (such as Netflix or Hulu).
Databases may look different and include different subjects or types of source, but ALL databases will have a few common features:
If you are off-campus, you will need to log in to myCSMD after clicking the database links.
Searches multiple databases (covering most subjects) for sources including scholarly journals, dissertations, magazines, newspapers, eBooks, and more.
Multidisciplinary database (covering most subjects) including scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, and other sources.
Multidisciplinary collection of eBooks covering a broad range of academic subjects.
Includes reference, fiction, and nonfiction eBooks for multiple subjects.
(Note: These are only a few of the subject-specific databases. Additional databases can be found in the A-Z list.)
Full text sources (including journals) covering business and related topics such as marketing, management, accounting, and economics.
Journal articles, indexing, and abstracts related to communication, mass media, and related fields of study.
Education resources including journal articles, research reports, curriculum and teaching guides, conference papers, dissertations/theses, and books.
Scholarly, government, and general interest articles about environment-related topics including climate change, sustainability, renewable energy, recycling, and more.
Journals and other sources related to medical disciplines, including Nursing.
Information about current social issues from topic overviews, news, opinions, pro/con essays, and other sources.
Includes author biographies, literature overviews, criticisms, audio interviews, and reviews. Searchable by author, title, genre, and literary movement.
Search thousands of college and graduate schools, identify scholarships, take practice tests, and use test prep eBooks.
Search over 600 full text reference books for your topic. It also has article links to library databases (such as ProQuest and EBSCO).
Includes language and subject dictionaries, general reference books, subject-specific reference books, timelines, quotations, and overview pages.
Project MUSE offers complete, full-text versions of scholarly journals and books from many of the world's leading university presses and scholarly societies. MUSE provides access to a growing list of scholarly open access content.
Full-text archive of journals in biomedical and life sciences. (FREE version)
Add "quotation marks" around phrases. This tells the database (or search engine such as Google) to treat the phrase as one term (rather than searching for each word individually).
Using the "Advanced Search" option allows you to put each keyword in its own search box, which makes it easier to change out keywords for synonyms, narrower or broader terms, etc. It also gives options for limiting your search results by date, source type, and others.
Use database search tools AND, OR, and NOT (as drop downs in Advanced Search or between keywords in the search bar):
AND = will only show results that include BOTH terms
OR = will show results if they have at least one of the terms
NOT = will exclude results that use that term
Subject terms (also called "subjects" or "controlled vocabulary") are the database's "official" keywords assigned to topics. When searching with subjects, your results will most likely be more precise and relevant. You can find subject terms in a few places:
Limits can be added using Advanced Search or from the search results page. Databases usually include options to limit by:
Hitting a paywall? Don't buy articles!
If you find an article online but can’t access the full text, you can check to the E-Journal Finder to see if it is available through the library databases, search in Google Scholar, or request a copy of the article through Interlibrary Loan.
When searching for empirical research articles, use database tools and extra keywords to help narrow your search.
Limit search to "Full Text" and "Peer Reviewed"
Limit search by source type (“Academic Journals” or “Scholarly Journals”)
In addition to keywords for your topic, use words or phrases such as:
“study” or “studies”
“longitudinal study”
“research”
“observation”
“survey”
“experiment”
“findings”
“subjects” or “participants”
“participant group”
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For more help with database searching and keywords, check out the Research Help library guide.