Library databases are an important resource for researchers, both student and professional, and understanding how they work will make your library research in the future easier and more productive.
So what is a library database? A database is just a searchable collection of information. We use different kinds of databases every day. Apple’s iTunes is a database of songs to buy. Amazon.com is a huge database of products for sale. Library databases include magazine and newspaper articles, book chapters, conference proceedings, and other digitized research material.
Different library databases contain different kinds of content. Most databases only include articles for a particular subject area. An example of a subject-specific database is the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL,) which contains the full text to over 600 different nursing and allied health-related journals. Naturally, the CINAHL database would be a poor place to find English Literature or History articles but would be excellent for finding high-quality articles for nursing or other health-related
areas like nutrition.
Some databases contain only certain formats of material. EBSCO Newspaper Source contains hundreds of reputable national and international newspapers, but only newspapers—no journals, no book chapters. So be aware not only of a database’s subject area but also of the kinds of material formats it contains.
Finally, a few databases are multi-disciplinary. This means that a single database might cover many different subject areas. These large multi-disciplinary databases are often the best first-stop for library research. Academic Search Complete is an example of a multi-disciplinary database. You’ll find articles in Academic Search Complete on various topics, from political science and psychology to English literature and education.
You can access the databases one of two ways.
The first method is to go to the MSU Libraries Homepage, click "Databases A-Z."
From here, you can search alphabetically, or you can use the search bar in the upper right hand corner to search for a broad subject such as "art," science," "business," etc.
The second method is to go to the Library Homepage, and click on Research Assistance. Then click on the subject area that you are studying and then click the "Articles" or "Finding Articles" tab.
This method will narrow down the list of databases to what is best just for that subject area.
One thing to note is that not every database or database record is available in full text. A database might contain hundreds or even thousands of different full-text journals but may also include article records where the full text is not available. These abstract-only article records may not be immediately useful to you, but we have an Inter-library loan service that can quickly request the full text of the articles for you. The video demonstrating how to use Academic Search Complete will explain how to use Inter-library Loan.
As a reminder, Academic Search Complete is the most comprehensive multi-disciplinary database that covers most topics This video explains how to use the database and how to order articles through Interlibrary Loan. All of the EBSCO databases will function similar to this database.
Another database that can be helpful to use when developing an argumentative paper is Opposing Viewpoints. The database provides information in the formats of statistics, research articles, newspapers, etc.
