Basic Library Research

• Purchased by the school (databases AKA subscription databases)
• Content reviewed by information professionals
• Information is organized
• Content is stable

What is a subscription database?

      A database is a collection of articles, usually from journals
      and magazines; can also include excerpts from encyclopedias and other reference sources.

Why use a database?

• Information selected by professionals
• Information from reference sources, academic journals, magazines, newspapers, etc.
• The information is more organized than information on the web.  
• The researcher benefits because more relevant results are obtained through use of keywords, authors, titles, and dates. 

Remember these two tips:

1. Use quotes when searching to keep phrases together.  Also, try to be as specific as possible.  For example, instead of civil war, search for "American Civil War"

2. Use Boolean operators (AND OR NOT).  You may also substitute their symbols:

• For AND, use the plus sign +
• For NOT, use the minus sign -

When searching in Google, remember to place the symbols right next to the search term.  This is especially helpful with the minus sign:

• Washington -George