Using Databases

A database is a collection of sources, often on just one subject, that includes a search engine and other tools.

Most library databases are by subscription, meaning they contain sources not found for free on the web.

• Most of them contain peer-reviewed journal articles and academic e-books.
• Many are subject-specific, for example "education" or "history" databases, while others are multi-subject.
• Some contain newspapers, magazines, & other primary sources like historical documents & classic books.  
• We also have reference databases with academic encyclopedias and dictionaries.
• And we have many video databases with films, plays, documentaries, and instructional videos (on counseling, etc.).  
• There are also free databases, called "open access," which we link and feature, or that can be found online.

To get recommendations of the best ones for you, try our Research Guides in Academic Subjects.

All databases look different, and you should get to know the best ones in your subject & the special tools in them. 

EBSCO Databases 

• EBSCO provides many of our databases, and has a green & blue globe icon.
• EBSCO searches the title and abstract of a source. You can change this setting to "All Text" to search in the source texts.
• You can also use "all filters" or special tools by clicking "advanced search," then "subjects."
• Our most popular database is EBSCO's ATLA theological database. You can search by scripture passage or use the scripture tool.
• You can also search more than one EBSCO database at once. Just click the database title and select more.
• To share or save a search, copy and paste the URL (web address). You can also start an EBSCO account.
• EBSCO also has citation tools, thesaurus (academic terms), and more.

ProQuest Databases

• Our other biggest provider, ProQuest has a green "PQ" logo on its databases.
• To search all subjects, try ProQuest Central.  It has a huge collection of newspapers and magazines as well as academic sources.
• To save a search in ProQuest, click "Save Search/Alert." Copy and paste the link, or set an alert for new sources on your topic.
• ProQuest does a very broad search of the full text of articles as well as the titles and abstracts, so you'll get a lot of results.
• If you want to search just titles and abstracts, click "modify search" and change "Anywhere" to "Anywhere except full text--NOFT"
• ProQuest also has filters both before searching in advanced search or after searching on the left margin.  

Other Great Databases

• Statista to find quick but credible statistics and reports based on polls, surveys, etc.
• Factiva to read daily newspapers
• Mango to learn foreign languages, ancient and modern
• O'Reilly to listen to business and tech audiobooks or read e-books
• Browzine to save your favorite journals on your bookshelf
• Nexis Uni to search a huge collection of news, business, and legal sources