LibGuides: Library Research: Understanding Library Databases: Types of databases

Types of Databases

John B. Cade Library provides you with access to both general and subject databases.

So what's the difference between general and subject databases?

ABOUT GENERAL DATABASES

General databases cover multiple disciplines or a wide range of subjects.

General databases are a helpful start to your research as they give you information about articles from many disciplines(i.e. Psychology, Sociology, Criminal Justice, Business). John B. Cade Library subscribes to general databases, such as:

GENERAL DATABASES AVAILABLE at JOHN B. CADE LIBRARY

RECAP: General databases are good for:

Performing multi-disciplinary searches
Finding information when there is no clear discipline
Finding information about any general topic
Browsing and starting the search process

ABOUT SUBJECT SPECIFIC DATABASES

Subject databases are specialized and cover articles, indexes, news and legal information, and compilations of other information related to a particular subject or discipline.

SUBJECT SPECIFIC DATABASES AVAILABLE AT JOHN B. CADE LIBRARY

RECAP: SUBJECT SPECIFIC DATABASES

Some resources provide content with a specific discipline in mind; these tools typically provide comprehensive coverage of scholarly literature in a defined field.

CLICK THE LINK BELOW FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF DATABASES

Remember to read the description of the database to determine if it is appropriate for your research topic.

Example of General Databases (CLICK the "i" symbol for a complete description of the database)

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window Academic Search Complete offers an enormous collection of the most valuable full-text journals, providing users access to critical information from many sources unique to this database. In addition, this database is the leading source of peer-reviewed, full-text for STEM research, as well as for the Social Sciences and Humanities. This scholarly collection offers unmatched coverage of information spanning a broad range of important areas of academic study, including anthropology, engineering, law, sciences and more.
Ebsco Discovery Service This link opens in a new window EBSCO Discovery Service offers you a single access point to searching a vast range of our library's resources. In addition to the library holdings you can search in thousands of journals and in all EBSCO databases.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window Provides page images of back issues of the core scholarly journals in the humanities and social sciences from the earliest issues to within a few years of current publication. Users may browse by journal title or discipline, or may search the full-text or citations/abstracts.
Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window Offers full-text online news, business, legal, legislative, and regulatory information, updated daily.

Examples of Subject Databases

AGRICOLA This link opens in a new window Containing bibliographic records from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Library, this source provides access to millions of citations. The citations are comprised of journal articles, book chapters, theses and much more, all relating to the field of agriculture.
Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window Business Source Complete is the world's definitive scholarly business database, providing the leading collection of bibliographic and full text content. As part of the comprehensive coverage offered by this database, indexing and abstracts for the most important scholarly business journals back as far as 1886 are included. In addition, searchable cited references are provided for more than 1,300 journals.
CINAHL Plus with Full Text This link opens in a new window Provides full text for nursing and allied health journals, and includes a higher number of records, additional journals, records dating back to 1937. Quick Lessons which provide concise overviews of diseases and most effective treatment options.
Computer Source This link opens in a new window Computer Source contains nearly 300 full-text journals and magazines. Content includes many subject areas and is not limited to: computers, electronics, the internet, telecommunications, computer science, programming, artificial intelligence, cybernetics, information systems, robotics, and software.
ERIC This link opens in a new window The Education Resource Information Center provides access to educational literature and resources. This database provides access to information from journals included in the Current Index of Journals in Education and Resources in Education Index. This resource contains more than a million records and links to hundreds of thousands of full-text documents from ERIC back to 1966.
Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition This link opens in a new window This resource provides over 500 scholarly full-text journals focusing on many medical disciplines. Coverage of nursing and allied health is particularly strong, including full text from Issues in Comprehensive Pediatric Nursing, Issues in Mental Health Nursing, Journal of Advanced Nursing, Journal of Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, Journal of Clinical Nursing, Journal of Community Health Nursing, Journal of Nursing Management, Nursing Ethics, Nursing Forum, Nursing Inquiry and many more.
History Reference Center This link opens in a new window History Reference Center includes full text for nearly 150 leading history periodicals. Content Includes: Nearly 57,000 historical documentsMore than 80,000 biographies of historical figuresMore than 1,990 full-text reference books, encyclopedias and non-fiction booksNearly 46,000 historical photos & mapsMore than 80 hours of historical video.
Nursing & Allied Health Premium (ProQuest) formerly Nursing & Allied Health This link opens in a new window Nursing & Allied Health Premium provides users with reliable healthcare information covering nursing, allied health, alternative and complementary medicine, and much more. ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Source provides abstracting and indexing for more than 1,200 titles, with over 1,050 titles in full-text, plus more than 15,700 full text dissertations representing the most rigorous scholarship in nursing and related fields.
Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection This link opens in a new window Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection provides access to nearly 540 full-text journals.This database also provides particularly strong coverage in child & adolescent psychology and various areas of counseling.
SocINDEX This link opens in a new window SocINDEX with Full Text is the world's most comprehensive and highest quality sociology research database. The database features more than 2.1 million records with subject headings from a 20,000+ term sociological thesaurus designed by subject experts and expert lexicographers. SocINDEX with Full Text contains full text for more than 860 journals dating back to 1908. This database also includes full text for more than 830 books and monographs, and full text for over 16,800 conference papers.