Title: Choosing and Using a Library Database
Course: Library - Library Sandbox > Section: Ontario Tech Library Online: Advanced Searching for Research Articles

Omni Search is a great search tool, but sometimes you'll need to find more  information on your specific topic. In this case, you could use a database available through the Library. Databases allow you to efficiently search for published information such as magazine, journal, and newspaper articles. They can be more general (all disciplines) or discipline-specific (e.g. a business database).

Choose a Database

The first step  is to figure out where to search. The Library licenses hundreds of databases, many of them focused on specific subjects.

There are two ways to access databases via the Library website. The first is by clicking on the Databases  A-Z tab on the main Library home page. Another way that you can find subject specific databases is by locating the  research guide for your program.

Watch this short video to see how it is done!

Choosing a Library Database - Transcript

Using Library Databases

Databases are indexes to information about articles, where you can find the article title, author, publication title, volume number,  issue number, date.

An article's citation information:

In addition to this "citation" information, databases will sometimes contain the full text of articles. If the full text is not available from one database, it may be available from another. For more information, go to: Find Full Text.

A Note on Google Scholar

Google Scholar can be a helpful tool, but does not cover all of the content that is available in Ontario Tech's licensed databases. It is generally a good idea to use Google Scholar in combination with other databases.

Also, be sure to add Ontario Tech as your library in Google Scholar's Settings. You will be able to access more full text articles that way.

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