A database is a collection of information organized for easy retrieval, with the information usually behind a paywall. The Library provides NMH students and staff access to over 80 databases.
Library Databases might organize:
The information in the databases might be available in multiple ones, but sometimes databases have original content. Think of it as Netflix, Hulu, Max, etc. Each works very similarly and has some of the same content, but then there are shows/movies/documentaries that are only available on one platform.
Google (and other open web searches) and databases are both useful. Which you ought to use for a given search depends on your information needs. If you’re searching for scholarly research, searching in a database will make a lot more sense. But if you are searching for a museum website, Google is going to be more help. Read on to compare and contrast their strengths.
| Databases | |
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The highest-ranking results could be sponsored ads. |
Search results are ranked by relevance to search terms |
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Expands your search by exploring additional terms related to your input. |
Precise - only searches for provided search terms |
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Does not curate search results to guarantee accuracy |
Provides high-quality resources and includes tools to filter out non-academic results. |
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Makes finding general information on pretty much any topic fairly easy. |
Collections organized by subject, theme, genre, etc. so you have to choose the right one! |
As you explore different databases keep an eye out for built-in filter options. Depending on the database they'll either be on the left, right, along the top, or maybe hidden with a collapsible menu.
These filters are incredibly powerful tools for narrowing searches. They usually include options to filter by publication date, language, content type and more.
For example, in JSTOR the filter options are on the left side of the search results.
Your topic seemed so great! So why can't you find any information on it? If you're looking for an all-in-one source that addresses your topic perfectly, you might need a different approach.
This video from North Carolina State University Libraries explains how to approach finding sources.
Google, and many other search engines, use what is called natural language processing (NLP). NLP allows the search engine to interpret everyday language, rather than relying on keywords alone. In short, you can type full sentences into the search box and you'll get results. Our databases require more precision. When we search on a database we'll use keywords alongside tools like boolean operators and search filters to define the scope of our search.
Boolean Operators are words used to connect search terms. They can either narrow or broaden your search results. The three basic boolean operators are AND, OR, and NOT. (Note: some search engines will only interpret the words AND, OR, and NOT as boolean operators when they are capitalized. Otherwise, they are treated as regular words.)
AND helps narrow search results. When you join two search terms with AND your results will include only results that include both (or all) search terms.
For example, the search Cats AND Dogs will only give you search results that mention both Cats and Dogs.
In some, but not all databases AND is the implied connector between search terms. So if you search for evolutionary psychology domestic cats the database would interpret it as evolutionary AND psychology AND domestic AND cats. All the search terms will appear in your results, though not necessarily in order.
OR helps broaden search results. When you join search terms with OR your results will include any resources that mention either search term. As you are developing your keywords, be sure to make note of any synonyms and add them to your search using OR.
For example, if you were researching World War I, you might note that it was once called the Great War -- to get the broadest possible results, you could search for World War I OR Great War.
NOT helps narrow our search results by allowing us to exclude certain keywords or phrases from our search results. It is especially helpful if one of your keywords has multiple meanings that keep giving you irrelevant results. But it can also be helpful if you want to omit certain concepts that may be commonly associated with your keywords.
For instance, if we were searching for information about animal cloning, and we already read several articles about Dolly the Sheep we could search Cloning NOT Sheep to find articles about cloning that don't mention sheep.
Quotation Marks
If you want to combine terms into phrases you can join them with quotation marks. For example, if we search for "Evolutionary Psychology" with the quotation marks around the two terms we are ensuring that not only will both words be in the results, but that they'll be next to each other.
Combining Boolean Operators
You can use multiple boolean operators in one search string, but you'll need to consider the order to ensure you get the results you expect.