Unit 6: Search Tools: Subscription Databases

Lesson 11: Search Tips


Search Tip 1: Subject Headings

Like the online catalog, database articles feature links to similar or related articles. Click on related concepts or subject terms (or subject headings) to find related articles.

Search Tip 2: Database Design

Edison State College’s subscription databases have a wide range of designs, requiring slightly different search approaches. Some databases have very simple interfaces, such as Academic Search Premier, while others provide more than one way to retrieve a single article, such as Literature Resource Center and Contemporary Women’s Issues. Some databases act like reference books, lending themselves to simple keyword searches that yield brief overviews of a particular topic or concept, such as Biography Resource Center and Oxford Reference Online. Still others primarily contain certain formats, such as digital art images in ARTstor and e-books in NetLibrary eBooks. To learn how to effectively use each database takes patience, time, and practice.

You have completed Unit 6. Continue to Unit 7 to learn how to evaluate reference resources.