Once you've decided to search in a database, you'll have to figure out which one. Some databases have different types of information, such as scholarly journal articles vs. newspaper articles. Other databases have information about different fields, such as biology vs. English literature.
If you're not sure where to start, one option is to use our OneSearch tool, which searches several (although not all) of our databases at once. You'll be able to find articles, books, ebooks, DVDs, Blu-Rays, and more by using OneSearch.
However, OneSearch can be overwhelming because it includes so much information. For that reason, some students prefer to search for articles via a single databases. Using a single database is often more convenient because it will return more specific results than OneSearch.
If you'd rather use a single database, your next step is to decide whether you want to use a multidisciplinary database or a discipline-specific database.
Multidisciplinary databases include information on a variety of topics and fields. They're best for a broad overview on a subject, or if you want to see how a certain topic connects to several different fields.
For example, if your topic is narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), a multidisciplinary database might give you a variety of articles:
If this sounds like the kind of information you need, view the list below, where we've linked some of our multidisciplinary databases that cover more than one field. You can also access our full list of databases here.
A comprehensive scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 5,000 full-text journals. Useful for research in a broad range of studies.
Provides information and analysis on current, significant social, political, and cultural issues. Updated weekly to present multiple perspectives and arguments on each topic.
A non-profit digital library of journals, academic ebooks, images, and primary sources, primarily in the humanities and social sciences. Artstor content is now included in JSTOR.
Includes a 40-year archive of curated news, legal, and business sources, including U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1790.
Full text of the Baltimore Sun, Christian Science Monitor, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post, from the 1980s to the present on the Proquest database platform.
If you're still finding too much information in a multidisciplinary database, it may be time to move on to a discipline-specific databases. These databases focus on a single academic discipline. As you advance in your major, your professors will expect you to focus on sources in your academic field. In a discipline-specific database, all of the results will connect to your field.
Let's go back to the example of a project on narcissistic personality disorder. If you're a psychology major and you're using a psychology database, you'll no longer get the articles on biology or news or film and moving image. Instead, you might find the following in a discipline-specific database:
If this sounds like the kind of information you need, view the list below, where we've linked our databases separated by discipline or subject. You can also access our full list of databases here.
The library has access to many different journal titles. You can find out if we have a specific journal by going to Find a Journal and searching by title. Find a Journal is most helpful if you've already found information about a specific article (perhaps you found it online or your professor recommended it to you) and want to know if we have access to it through our databases.
