How to Use the Library Research Databases
This module covers how to search the Goodwin Library Online Catalog.When you have completed this module of GILT, you will be able to:
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Overview
Where are Goodwin Library's Research Databases?
Goodwin Library has a Search Engine with five tabs: "Catalog", "Ebrary", "Journal Titles", "Research Databases", and "Reserves".
Click on the tab called "Research Databases" (see red box).
The white window below will open with a drop down box and two links.
You can access a database three ways:
1) You can access a database from the Search Engine by clicking on the down triangle next to the search box (see red arrow). All the databases will pop up with a scroll bar. Simply click on a database name and you will be directed to that database.
2) You can access a list of Research Databases with detailed descriptions to read to help you decide which database best fits your research needs. Click on the link "List of all Databases with Descriptions".
3) If you are uncertain how to use a database, go to a tutorial by clicking on the link "How to Use the Research Databases".
Popular or Scholarly?
Magazines and journals are called periodicals because they are issued on a regular or "periodic" basis. Periodicals are usually separated into two major groups: popular and scholarly. If you are able to recognize the differences between a popular and scholarly source, you can focus your research to retrieve only the type of articles you need.
Popular magazines Characteristics
Scholarly Journal Characteristics
- May have the words "magazine" or "popular" in the title
- Issued frequently: weekly, biweekly or monthly
- One author: staff-written or written by freelance authors
- Articles are usually short
- Popular or catchy titles glossy paper, photos, illustrations, photos, cartoons, sidebars
- Many ads for consumer products and services
- Educated but nono-expert readers
- Designed to entertain or persuade readers
- Likely to be found on a newsstand or in a bookstore
- Articles do not have an abstract at the beginning
- Sources are not cited
- Examples: Newsweek, Jet, People Magazine
- Articles are peer-reviewed and/or evidence-based
- May have journal, bulletin, or review in the title
- Issued less frequently: monthly, quarterly, or semiannually
- Frequently multiple co-authors who are scholars and research in the field
- May have volume and issue numbers
- Longer articles
- Titles relate to research question or results, certainly not catchy
- Plain covers, mostly text inside with tables or graphs;
little or no color or illustrations- Few if any ads; if any, tend to be for other journals or specific services
- Written for scholars and researchers using language and vocabulary of the discipline
- Designed to inform, report, or make available original research or experimentation in a specific field
- With some exceptions, not found on a newsstand
- Usually have abstracts at the beginning that summarize the finds of the article
- Scholarly references in the form of a bibliography and footnotes
- Examples: Science, Journal of the American Medical Association, Psychological Bulletin
- May be peer-reviewed-- scientific or scholarly writing or research that has undergone evaluation by other experts in the field (peer review) to judge if it merits publication or funding.
Why Use a Periodical Index or Database?
Research databases are often called periodical indexes because of their search capabilities. When you use an online index, it quickly scans thousands of articles from many different periodicals to find a match for your search terms. An index will show you which periodicals have articles on your topic. Otherwise, you would have to look through each print issue of each periodical for articles on your topic.
Other advantages to using a database:
- Offer peer-reviewed scholarly articles that can't be found using Google
- information is well organized
- can perform pinpointed searches by author or title
- huge inventory of articles
Searching Goodwin Library's Research Databases
This is the library page with its list of 54 research databases. Below are the research databases sorted by title. Hover the mouse over each title to read a description of the contents of that database. Then click on the title to open that database.
Finding One Journal:
If your instructor expects you to find articles in a specific journal such as Reading Teacher,
click on A to Z Journal List. This is a program that searches all of Goodwin Library's databases to find which ones contain the journal you are looking for. Type the name of the journal in the Find box and click on the Search button. Below, a list of links of all the databases that contain Reading Teacher will appear.
Finding Similar Information:
If your research is in one particular discipline, you may wish to view databases with similar content. Click on Databases by Subject to view Goodwin Library's list of databases sorted by subject.
Try our Database Trials:
The Goodwin Library is always offering trials of databases we are considering for purchase. Click on Database Trials to view Goodwin Library's list. Please let us know if you like one of our trials!
Searching for articles in a database
Each database is unique in its look and design but they all have common features for searching for articles.The Basic Search:
- Basic Search feature
- Advanced Search feature with Boolean operands
- Search Limiters
- Article tools
Use a basic search if you are looking for a particular author, one article title, or a simple subject.
A limiter is a value that narrows your search. A limiter can be a date, a type of publication, full or brief article, etc. Only the most commonly used limiters are offered on a basic search page. Always check the limiter "full text". Otherwise, you will see article citations and abstracts in your results list that are only useful to advanced students willing to find those articles in other libraries.
The Advanced Search:
The advanced search page allows you to pinpoint your search using boolean operands, described below.
There are also many limiters to help pinpoint your search for articles.
- Always check the limiter "full text".
- You need scholarly information, check the limiter peer-reviewed
- If you are looking for a case study, a book review or other specific type of article, you can limit by document type.
- You may have forgotten the title of an article but you know when it was published, search by a date range
- You need articles from one specific journal, search by publication title
- You only want articles in a general subject range, search publication subjects
What are Boolean Operands?
Databases are designed to search using three different approaches.
- Use AND to pinpoint your search by finding articles with all the terms that fit your needs. Why look through all the articles about diabetes when you only want articles on diabetes in children?
- Many articles on your topic can be found using similar terms. Rather that search twice using each term, Use OR to combine your search and see all articles with both terms in one results list.
- Use NOT to eliminate articles you don't want to see. Why look through all the articles that include type 2 diabetes when you want articles about juvenile diabetes only?
• Combine two ideas in the search
• Both terms must appear in article
• AND narrows your results list
Example: diabetes AND children
• Performs two searches at once
• Find either term in article
• OR broadens your results list
Example: teenager OR juvenile
• Eliminates unwanted articles
• Term must NOT appear in article
• NOT narrows your results list
Example: diabetes NOT "type 2"
Search strategies to remember:
The Results List:
After you use a Basic or Advanced Search page (see above) and click on the Search button, you will see a list of your search results.
In the below example, there are 590 articles in the results list for an advanced search using "tobacco" and "advertising" and limiting the search to full text articles. Most databases will sort the results list by date; most current at the top. You can further refine your results by clicking on the links at the left: peer-reviewed, images, or by content type. To see the article, click on the title.
The Article Page:
This page shows the full article. Common database features are:
- Related subjects that provide additional useful information is often found in a side menu
- The print source of the article appears under the article title
- Search terms used on the search page are highlighted within the article to be easily found
- Citation for the article often appears at the bottom of the page. This database uses the MLA format as its default.
- Link of the article often appears at the end of the page that you can save for future use
- Databases have many tools for managing articles:
- Print preview: Always use this feature!! The menu bars are stripped away to conserve paper when printing.
- Email: send article to yourself or team members through email
- Download: save the article on your computer or MP3 player
- Citation Tools: get citation of the article in other formats such as APA
- Bookmark: save the link of this article on your browser
- Share: send articles to a shared folder for team members
- Translate: article can be translated into other languages
- Listen: listen to the article instead of reading
Quiz Questions
Instructions: Click on one radio button for each question. When you are done, click on the button at the end of the quiz: "Check your score". A new window will appear with your score. If you like your score, you may print the page for your instructor. If you don't like your score, click on the Back Button to access this quiz again. Click on the Reset button. Try the quiz again.
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