SVC Library: Psych 100 Research-Focused Class Guide: Research Databases

Using Research Databases for Research

What are Research Databases?

Databases are proprietary, reliable, vetted sources that offer online, full-text research, and articles from newspapers, journals, academic or popular sources, and peer-reviewed articles, that are searchable by keywords, search phrases, titles, subject areas, dates, or source type. You will also find other helpful tools like formatted citations and multiple sharing options.

How are they used for research?

Research databases provide a lot of academic sources and aticles that are peer-reviewed. They are vetted, credible, and substantial research articles that are a great first step when looking for evidence in your academic papers.

How will I use it for class?

You will be using these kinds of resources frequently throughout your research for this class.

About Keywords and/or Search Terms

Databases work best if you are putting the basic concepts that you are looking for into the search box, rather than a question or sentence like you might do in an Internet search.

Some tips to try with search terms and/or keywords:

You can combine concepts by using the word AND in between concepts in order to see more specific and fewer results.

Examples of combining concepts with the word AND
brain	AND	music
Neuroscience	AND	addiction
Neuroscience	AND	anxiety OR stress

You can search for synonyms (other words that mean the same thing) using the word OR which provides some options for your search.

Examples of searching word options using OR
anxiety	OR	stress
"college students"	OR	"young adults"
"self-conciousness"	OR	introspection

Once you see some results that you like, use the keywords or subject terms that you see connected to those articles in your future searches to find more. And keep track of the keywords that work!

Where to Look for Research Databases

This page of the library website explains more about research databases. https://library.skagit.edu/home/databases
Find a list with a description of all of our databases A-Z
From off-campus, you will need to log-in with your full mysvc username and password.

Start with these:

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
Features journals and magazines with a few newspapers. Like ProQuest there are full-text articles available for printing, copying, e-mailing, creating lists and with citation help. Login with full SVC email address and password.
ProQuest This link opens in a new window
Features thousands of magazine,newspaper and journal titles. Includes national newspapers like the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. Log in with full SVC email address and password.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Database of scholarly full-text journal articles featuring the Life Sciences and Arts & Sciences I collection. Also includes ArtSTOR's Art images. Log in with full SVC email address and password.
Science Direct This link opens in a new window
Database for science journals. The link is for an advanced search in journals. Be sure and select SUBSCRIBED SOURCES so you get free full text. SVC subscribes to Physical Sciences and Nursing and Health. Log in with full SVC email address and password.
PubMed This link opens in a new window
From the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, National Library of Medicine. Comprised of citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites. This source is a website.
PubMed does not include the full text of journal articles; however, click the icon in the top right corner of the abstract display to link to the full text, if available. In addition, the abstract display may include a LinkOut – more resources link located at the bottom of the display, with additional full text sources.

Recognizing a Scholalry or Academic Source

Anatomy of a Scholary Article