What are Databases?
Answer
Database is a collection of information in an electronic format that is organized in a manner that allows a user to easily retrieve information about its individual entries. Databases are usually collections of journal and magazine articles, dissertations, reviews, and abstracts. A database consists of individual records. Each record contains all of the information in the database for an individual item, which provides a brief description of that item. Each record is composed of fields. A field defines the individual elements of each record.
The most reliable and comprehensive place to look for academic, quality journal articles is a bibliographic database. Some also include conference papers, technical reports, book chapters, standards, etc. Most databases restrict themselves to particular subject areas or particular types of publication (e.g. theses). Different databases will cover a different range of journals, so for a thorough search you may well have to use more than one database.
You can search databases by keywords, authors and subjects. The database will provide you with a list of results that match your search terms. Each result will include an abstract (summary) and full details of where the article has been published. Some databases offer a link out to the full-text if the Library has a subscription to the journal.
Once you have found the details of some relevant publications, you need to check the library catalogue to see if we have a copy. The catalogue contains both print and online material. If not, you can order it through Interlibrary Loan. They will find a library that stocks that item and borrow it or photocopy it for you.
Type of Databases
Databases can be organized by the scope of the information they contain. Being aware of what this scope is can be helpful in selecting a database to begin your information search.
- General interest databases include information from several different subject areas and disciplines.
- Discipline-specific databases include information for several related subject areas.
- Subject-specific databases focus on providing information for one particular subject.