{"id":639,"date":"2018-08-13T15:52:22","date_gmt":"2018-08-13T15:52:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/olemiss-readinganthology\/?post_type=chapter&p=639"},"modified":"2018-08-14T15:39:30","modified_gmt":"2018-08-14T15:39:30","slug":"search-tools-databases","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/olemiss-readinganthology\/chapter\/search-tools-databases\/","title":{"raw":"Search Tools: Databases","rendered":"Search Tools: Databases"},"content":{"raw":"
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Search Tools: Databases<\/h2>\r\nA research database lets you search across the text of millions of articles published in thousands of academic journals. General databases<\/strong> have a little bit of everything, like a big retail store. Examples of general databases include Google Scholar<\/span> <\/a>and the library\u2019s One Search<\/span><\/a>. For topics that you may choose to explore in WRIT 102, we also recommend Academic Search Premier<\/span><\/a> and CQ Researcher<\/span><\/a>. These are good starting points when you\u2019re just beginning your research and shopping around for articles on a wide range of topics; however, we call them \u201cstarting points\u201d because you may find there are too many search results to sift through, even with narrow search terms. If you\u2019re getting too many irrelevant results when searching for sources, try not only adjusting your search terms, but also consulting a specialized database.\r\n\r\nSpecialized databases<\/strong>, like a boutique, contain lots of relevant research on a particular subject\/discipline (e.g., psychology) or format (e.g., streaming video). When you\u2019re getting too many irrelevant results in a general database, it can help to try your search in a more specialized database closely aligned to your topic. The number of results you get will be smaller, but the content will be more relevant. Examples of specialized databases include\u00a0SocINDEX with Full Tex<\/a>t, Political Science Complete<\/a>, and\u00a0Gender Studies Database.<\/a>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

Why Use Databases?<\/h2>\r\nYou are probably already comfortable with using Google and other search engines, so why take the time to learn about library databases? Well, while they make take some getting used to initially, library databases are far superior for academic research and can provide lots of pertinent results in a fraction of the time you\u2019d need to find the material in a search engine. Here are some other reasons that databases are so valuable:\r\n