Article & Database Searching Tutorials
Much of your research will probably involve using the Libraries' databases. They are online, searchable, and contain much of the information you will need.
The Queens College Libraries provide approximately 200 databases. You can use the drop-down menu at the top to limit the list to databases in a particular subject.
What is a database?
A database is an organized, online collection of information. The most common type of database includes primarily articles, so that will be the focus here.
In many databases, the articles are organized by subject; in such cases, you will see clickable subject terms that you can use to find more on that topic. Many databases also make it possible to search by other characteristics of an article. You may be able to look for articles that have been published after a certain date, peer-reviewed articles, or articles of a particular type.
Although databases allow you to search for information online, they are different from search engines because they include the information that you will find, not just the search box. Because of this, you will have different search results from one database to another, and most of them wouldn't be available from the open Web.
Some databases provide information only in certain, specific fields. For example, you would search Derwent Innovations Index for patents and MLA International Bibliography for literary criticism. Other databases, like JSTOR or Academic Search Complete, include information on a variety of subjects.
Besides journal, magazine and newspaper articles, databases can also consist of encyclopedia articles, images from art collections, digitized historical documents, library catalogs, statistical information, or almost anything.
