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Using Databases: A Tutorial |
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This tutorial is designed to help you get started with a key part of library research - finding articles. Articles are essays, usually non-fiction, which make up the content of magazines, newspapers and journals. For example, if you read a piece in Spin magazine about your favorite band, that is an article.
Library databases—the best place to search for articles—are collections of citations to articles from magazines, journals and newspapers. College research requires that you use valid and reliable information. Magazines, journals and newspapers can be excellent places to find valid and reliable information because the articles have been researched and reviewed by staff writers or scholars.
Finding articles effectively is a simple, four-step process. The first step is to determine the type of information you need, keeping in mind the difference between popular and scholarly sources. The second step is to choose the appropriate database for your topic. Once you’ve done that, you can move to the third step in which you brainstorm key terms and use them to construct effective searches. The fourth and final step is to use citations to find the full text of the article and to create your bibliography or works cited list. These steps are explained fully in the tutorial. While we will use one example throughout the tutorial, you may apply the same steps to your own topic.
Step 1. Determine the Information You Need
Step 2. Choose a Database
Step 3. Construct Effective Searches
Step 4. Understand Elements of a Citation
Be sure to refer to Chapter 17, Finding Sources Online, for more examples and illustrations on how to find, evaluate, and document database sources.
The following Writing and Researching Worksheets may also be helpful in planning and conducting database searches:
Worksheet 20. Thinking about Your Research Needs
Worksheet 21. Evaluating Print Sources
Worksheet 22. Evaluating Internet Sources
Worksheet 25. Research Form: Source Information for Periodicals
Worksheet 26. Research Form: Source Information for Online Material
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