Databases are organized collections of information. The collections of information are based on:
General databases have magazine and journal articles from many different disciplines. ProQuest Central is an example of a general database. Because these databases have a little bit of everything, they are a good place to start your research. However, if you know what subject or discipline covers your research topic , it may be better to start with a discipline-specific database. General databases, such as Gale Academic OneFile or ProQuest Central, can help point research in the right direction, but might not have enough information on a given subject to be the only database used in the research process. For more in-depth research you can use the discipline-specific databases that have articles for specialized topics such as medicine, art, education, etc.
The easiest way to access any of the databases is to go to the Find a Database link under the Find section on the Library’s homepage (suu.edu/library). Clicking this link brings you to the databases page that lists all our databases in alphabetical order in the A-Z list.
You can browse the A-Z list or select the letter your database starts with. For example, selecting G from the list would be a quick way to find Gale Academic OneFile. Or you can type the name of a database or keyword in the Search Here Title/Keyword box.
You can also browse databases by subject and type using the drop down boxes at the top. Using the Subjects List filter can be a way for you to narrow down your database selection to the databases most likely to have your topic in them. For example, if you are researching about Mental Health, you could use the filter for Psychology or Nursing, depending on the perspective you are taking for your topic.
The example below is the list of Nursing databases, chosen from the list of subjects. You might notice that some general databases are still listed as one of the options, because they do cover nursing. There is usually a subject guide on the side, where the subject librarian has put together tips and tools to help you research your topic.
The great thing about getting to know one database is that other databases, though they may look different, are going to behave in a similar manner. You might also notice that databases published by the same vendor are going to look very similar as well. All of the ProQuest databases will look pretty much the same, and the same for all of the Gale and EBSCO databases. But even across vendors, databases will work similarly, so you will be able to transfer your database search skills to other databases.
Most databases will have a search bar on their home screen, as well as a link to the advanced search screen. Advanced search will typically have multiple search bars (with the option to add more as needed) connected by built-in drop-down Boolean operators.
Whether you stick with the basic search, or use the advanced search, you can enter all your search terms in the first bar, separated by the Boolean operators. If you use the advanced search bar options which have the Boolean operators built in, it’s best to keep the built in operators with AND, and then use each search bar to group synonyms together using OR, or to add on a NOT operator as needed. The multiple search bars are nice to use, especially if your search gets long and complicated, because it can help you see all the components of your search statement at once.
After you have entered in your search statement, press enter or click the Search button. Next you will see your search results, where you can browse through articles and learn more about your topic, and find clues to revise your original search statement. Searching is trial and error and it may take several iterations to find the sources you need.
You can learn a lot from your search by looking at the number of results. This is an important tactic, because you won't necessarily find everything you need from one search. You will want to look at how many results you get right away to see if your search is focused enough. Unlike Google, where you commonly have millions or results, if you have thousands of results when searching the databases, it can mean that your search is too broad and you need to focus your search statement more. You could do this by adding another keyword (using the Boolean operator AND), switching out a keyword, or adjusting your use of the OR operator. It also might mean you need to use the filters to narrow your results further (see section on Filters below).
If you get fewer than 10 results, your search statement is likely too narrow or focused. This could be because of your keyword choice, or maybe you are using too many keywords combined with AND, which will always narrow your search. It might also be a good idea to add some synonyms for some of your keywords. Play around with your search statements and Boolean operators to find a combination that has a better number of results.
Finally, you could be searching in a database that doesn’t have much on your topic in which case you could also try a different database. For suggestions as to what database to use or which keywords, you can ask a librarian at the reference desk or use the Chat with a Librarian or text option.
Also, check the relevance of your results. You could get a perfect ballpark range of results, but if the sources aren’t really about your topic, or if they are all popular press publications (i.e. only magazines and newspapers) then your search is still not fully working. Don’t give up at this point, but simply learn from your results and try another search approach with different keywords or a different tactic with your Boolean operators. Searching is trial and error. Again, librarians are there to help you with this if you need it.
As you are reviewing your results, look at the words used in the titles and abstracts of the results. These are potential keywords that you can use to refine your search and make your results more relevant. They are the keywords that scholars are using, and can give you ideas to revise your initial search and keywords.
If you continue having trouble finding the information you need, reach out to one of the librarians on the Reference Desk, or chat with a librarian online.
To narrow down your results, you can also use the filters (usually on the left sidebar) to make your results even more relevant.
Most databases will have filters to limit your results by source type, date, and whether the articles are full text or peer reviewed, etc. These can be helpful for narrowing down a relevant search to the exact type of source and time period you need. Since most professors will require specific types of sources, knowing how to filter and get the types of sources you need simplifies the process.
For example, a search for dogs AND "mental health" AND "college students" in ProQuest Central yielded over 23,000 results, way more than anyone has time to look through. Adding another keyword might help, but checking the source type filter shows thousands of results that you won’t need. By excluding those results, or only including the types you want to use in your research, the number is dropped down to around 2,000 instead. A good start for refining your search.
2,273 is still a lot, but it does give you hope for the search. You can then continue to use other tactics, such as another keyword or filter, to narrow our results and to a manageable and relevant collection.
Another filter you could use is the Publication date filter, maybe setting your range to the last few years.
The Subject filter can be helpful in refining your topic and helping you find keywords. The subject filter acts like a list of subject headings (which are the approved keywords of databases) that you can choose from to essentially add another keyword to your search via a filter.
The “Refine Results” filters can be especially useful when trying to limit your results to a specific source type or date range, which will be helpful in your Evaluation Assignment in Module 4.
