Help Using Databases

What are they?

Any organized collection of related objects or informations, such as a phone book or class roster.
At the library, databases are:
- accessed through the internet, but not the same as the internet,
- paid collections of electronically searchable articles that increase quality and reliability,
- available in various formats including: index (title, author and publication information), abstract (above plus brief summary of article contents), full-text (all the text of the print original and page-image (text plus all images on the page), and
- available for general issues and highly specialized research.

When you want to work at home to do your research,
When you want high quality, reliable information,
When you need scholarly sources that are immediately available,
When you need in-depth information on a subject, and will use Interlibrary Loan, and
When you need current information (most database contents are from the mid 1990s forward).

Search multiple databases in your field at one time with Power Search QuickSearch.
Use Cornette Library's Power Search Subject Categories to locate specific recommendations on starting points for a given subject.
General databases, such as Academic Search Premier or LexisNexis Academic are a good starting point for many topics.
Start early, to take advantage of highly specific indexes such as Historical Abstracts or MathSciNet. (Articles may need to be requested from Interlibrary Loan.

Use the help feature in the database, and refer to the Cornette Library summary for the database, (alphabetical list).
Start with a broad search and then use appropriate terms to narrow.
Try alternate words for a term, such as car, auto, automobile, vehicle.
Use Boolean terms such as AND, OR, NOT, parenthesis and quotes to search phrases and combinations.
Use truncation and wildcard terms (vary by database) to search for alternative spelling and word forms.
Use the Subject terms that have been assigned in the database to find related articles. Each database will have its own subject terms.

Use chat, email, phone or stop by in person to get help.