Research Guides: Reference & Instruction Guide: Databases

About

The library subscribes and manages over 100 research databases.

What is retrieved?

Full text documents
Citations and abstracts
Images, charts, and other graphics
Statistics and other numeric data
Multimedia (videos, podcasts, television, and radio broadcasts)

OneSearch

OneSearch Discovery System
OneSearch is a product purchased and customized from Serial Solutions (360 Search) Summon. Review the link above and familiarize yourself with the various search options -- Basic Search, Advanced Search, Search by Subject, etc.

OneSearch Index
Approximately 60% of the library's e-resources are discovered via OneSearch. The above document is a list of databases not in the OneSearch index.

On-Campus Access

Access Help

Off-Campus Access Assistance
All but a few databases can be accessed off campus. If access is available on campus only, this is noted in the research database description.

Search Strategies

Discern at least a few keys terms or concepts to begin a search.
Start with broad concepts.
Think of alternative concepts (narrower, broader, related)

The key to a successful search is using controlled vocabulary -- the same vocabulary need to be used by both the indexer and the searcher. Not all databases use controlled vocabulary. If a thesaurus is available in the database, check your search terms.

Search Tips
Search Tips page that appears on many research guides.

"Stop" words -- conjunctions, prepositions, forms of "be."
Common words -- Example: "Bond" (James, chemical, or treasury?) Be specific and try to choose words with narrow definitions.
Not thinking of synonyms -- "zip code" or "postal code."
Homonym confusion -- "lead" (verb or chemical element?)
Upper case vs. lower case -- case sensitivity is sometimes an issue. Generally, lower case will return results that contain both upper and lower case.
Playing favorites with databases, search engines, websites.

Suggested Activities-Databases

Conduct your own searches on any topic. Think of different ways to state the same idea. Try the search in two or more databases. How are they similar? How are they different?
Familiarize yourself with the descriptions in the research databases lists.
Become familiar with the recommended databases within the library's research guides.
Access one of the library's research databases from off-campus to experience remote access.
When the library subscribes to a new database, offer to demo it at a Reference Services Team meeting.