Searching a Typical Database
A database is a searchable collection of information. For libraries this often means articles and book chapters. Here at USM Libraries we access our article databases under “Databases & Guides.” In other words if you want to search for articles you should look for Databases A-Z on the USM Libraries homepage. See below:
You can click anywhere near the words “Databases & Guides” or on the dark blue plus sign to open the full menu of databases. Note below:
Clicking on the link “Subject Guide” indicated by the green rectangle will bring you to our subject guides of various subject areas. Clicking on any of the A,B,C, etc. links, indicated by the red rectangle, will bring you to all of the USM Databases whose title begins with that letter. Clicking on the “Browse All Databases” button, indicated by the red arrow, will lead you to a complete list of all USM Databases.
Once you choose a database, you can familiarize yourself with how the database looks and how it functions. Let’s take a look at a few databases, to demonstrate how they are alike and how they are different.
Note the following databases. Because different companies produce them, they have different looks, but often they function in basically the same way. For example, here is the popular database Academic Search Complete:
The red arrow indicates where you can enter your search strategy. The Green rectangle and arrow indicates how to choose a particular article that interests you and then how to find your collection of articles once you are ready to look at them more closely. The yellow rectangle shows where you can sign into the database to keep searches and articles for a longer period of time. Note: if you do not sign into the database your work will not be saved.
Similar to the other database, the red arrow indicates where to enter your search terms. The Sign-in for this database, indicated in the yellow rectangle, is not through the database, but rather connects to your Google Drive account, where you can download articles, as well as paste URL links for articles, indicated in the green rectangle.
In this database called JSTOR, as indicated by the yellow rectangle, you can sign into this database to save your results. This database also allows you a temporary workspace for saving items for two days. It is usually easier (and safer) to either save each item individually or sign into the database to make use of more permanent saving features.
JSTOR shows a slight difference in the number of boxes to enter your search strategy, however you can easily just add another search box if you wish. Occasionally you will use databases that have only one box to enter your terms. Note below:
With only one search box, in this database called Project Muse, the best course of action is to use AND statements with your keywords in a single box. This will begin your search so you can determine--based on results--whether or not changes to your search are necessary.
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If we look at the next steps to search these databases you will see how to refine and work with your search results.
In Academic Search Complete, you can limit your search results by using the following limits in your search. See below:
The red rectangle shows where Academic Search Complete has limits for your search. Limits allow you to be more precise in your search. For example, clicking on the “Scholarly (Peer-reviewed) Journals” radio button (indicated by the green arrow) will search only results that are scholarly; a date range can be limited by the moving the date-bar (indicated by the yellow arrow) searching only publishing dates that are acceptable for your assignment; and deciding in what type of sources you will find your information (magazines, newspapers, academic journals, etc) is as easy as clicking the radio button indicated by the purple arrow under the heading “Source Types.”
You will see that many databases have limiting features. They are in different places, or orders but usually serve the same function. Note the following examples below:
Project Muse:
As you can probably understand, databases have one job: To help you FIND ARTICLES! You will need to choose your keywords and/or phrases, and then LIMIT or NARROW or FILTER your search to get a more useful collection of articles for your project or paper.
Next we will demonstrate how to obtain those great articles once you find them!
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In Academic Search Complete and other databases, once you have a collection of articles, you want to find the great ones! By using the abstract (purple tab below) you can decide if an article is for you. Next you might want to save the article (yellow tab below) by sending it to your email, thumbdrive, or printer. Keep the citation ready (red tab) when you are ready to write your paper to give the author of the article credit. Do you want to just read it on your computer? You can do that too! (Green tab) See below:
In the Gale Database sightly different locations:
And finally Project Muse:
There are many similarities between the databases that will help you navigate them, even if they are not really in the same location! Keep in mind that most databases have the same
functionality, and that a quick perusal of the website may help you find all the services you are used to using! Remember that Asking a Librarian is a great way to help you save time and better understand our databases at USM. Contact the USM Libraries anytime! Phone:(207) 780-4272 Email: [email protected] ASK a Librarian Chat: https://libanswers.usm.maine.edu/
