What is a library database?
A library database is a searchable collection of different resources including articles from magazines, newspapers, and scholarly journals, streaming videos, images, and more. You can find lots of great information for your persuasuve speech assignment in the library databases.
Library databases are different than Google. The information contained in databases is not freely available via a google search. You have access to the databases as an SCC student, so when you access a database from off campus you will be prompted to login with your MEID and password.
Step 1: Choosing a Topic & Background Info
The library has some great resources that can help you to choose a topic. The databases below have lists of topics you can browse to help you get ideas and discover a topic that interests you.
As you browse, you can also read about each topic to learn more about it and see if it will be a good fit for your assignment. Before you settle on a topic, it is helpful to do this pre-research. Pre-research can help you to gather background information about your topic, identify keywords, and make the research process more efficient. To gather background information, you can read overview articles or other reference articles to gain an overview of your topic and all the different aspects that relate to it. With a strong understanding of your topic, you will be able to identify more specific issues to further research. You can find overview articles and background information using the databases above. Here are a few examples of the types of articles you can find in those databases.
While you read through the articles, you will want to take note of important terminology or keywords. Keywords will be your *key* to relevant search results when you begin researching.
Next: Select the tab, Step 2: Keywords
Keywords
Databases deliver the best results when you search using specific keywords or short phrases rather than full sentences, questions, or strings of words. Thinking about your topic can help you to identify relevant keywords. You can also use the background and reference articles to identify keywords. As you read through those articles, take note of the terms and keywords that are used. Keep a log of these keywords, you will need them when you are ready to search the databases.
What makes a good keyword?
Good keywords are single words (usually nouns) OR specific phrases (two or more words that must go together to make sense). Keywords should represent the most imporant concepts or words in your topic or thesis statament. Suppose my persuasive speech topic is "Exotic pets should be more heavily regulated because they pose a risk to public health". The keywords from this statement are:
"exotic pets"
regulation (sometimes it is helpful to use the noun form for a keyword)
"public health"
Using these keywords, brainstorm synonyms and related terms that you can also use to search. Use the background research to help you identify additional keywords. Here is an example showing synonyms and related terms for each of the keywords.
|
"exotic pets" |
regulation |
"public health" |
|---|---|---|
|
"exotic animals" |
laws |
disease |
|
"big cats" |
legislation |
"animal attacks" |
Search Statements
Once you have a list of keywords, you can create search statements. A search statement is made up of two or more keywords connected with the word AND. The search statement is what you will type into the search box in the database. Remember, searching databases is different than searching Google, so you must search in the way the database will best respond. Here is a few examples of search statements.
"exotic pets" AND legislation: This search statement will return results that include both of these keyphrases
"exotic pets" AND disease: This search statement will return results that include both of these keywords, but the results may not be related to regulations. Be sure to include relevant terms in the search statement. For example: "exotic animals" AND disease AND legislation
Search Tips
Quotes - use quotes around two or more words that must go together. This tells the database to search for that exact phrase. Avoid putting quotes around words that do not need to be an exact phrase.
Synonyms and Related Terms - Think about synonyms and related terms for keywords that can be used in searching. If you are searching for "exotic pets", also try "exotic animals"
Search statement 1: "exotic pets" AND "public health"
Search statement 2: "exotic animals" AND "public health"
Read your search statement: Does the search statement include the relevant terms for what you are looking for? Remember you may need to search several times with different search statements. Try different combinations of keywords to get different results. Switch out synonyms or related terms.
Next: Select the tab, Step 3: Search Databases
Database Searching
Now that you have at least a few search statements ready to go, you can begin to search for information in the library databases. You can use the library's OneSearch (searches multiple databases at once).
Search Options
Utilizing search options will help you narrow down or make your search results more specific by letting you select the options you want. Each library database may look different, but all have similar search options, or what we call filters or limiters. These are some options to look for:
Full text: Select this option to view results you can read entirely online, i.e. articles, ebooks, etc.
Scholarly/Peer Review: Choose this option to view articles from scholarly and peer-reviewed journals. This will remove magazine and newspaper articles from your list of results.
Format, Content, or Source type: Choose a particular type of resource such as a book, newspaper article, etc. For example, if you select newspaper, then only newspaper articles will appear in your result list.
Publication Date: Choose to limit results to a particular date range. This can be helpful to filter out older information if you select to look at information published within the last three, five, or ten years. However, for some topics, looking at older information may be helpful too.
Watch OneSearch basics for search tips.
Search Results
Click on a title from the results list to get more information about it. You will be able to view the author, publication, etc information, as well as access the full text if applicable.
Other helpful information that you may find is a list of keywords or subject terms. Think of these terms as tags that have been selected because they are keywords closely associated with the content of the article, book, or video. In other words, if you like the source, try using the suggested keywords in a search statement to find more like it.
You can also find tools for printing, emailing, and citing. Also, see the Citing Sources tab at the top of the page for more info on citing.
Here is a screenshot showing these features.
Next Steps
Read the abstracts (summaries) of articles or skim through sources before deciding if it is a good source for you. Don't rely just on the title. As you read, take note of important keywords that you can include in your search statements.
Revise search statements as needed. Try searching with different keywords and in different databases for comprehensive research.
Get help from a librarian if you have questions about your research. Visit us when the library is open, or chat with a librarian 24/7
