Searching a Typical Database

A database is a searchable collection of information. For libraries this often means articles and

book chapters. Here at USM Libraries we access our article databases under “Databases &

Guides.” In other words if you want to search for articles you should look for Databases A-Z on

the USM Libraries homepage. See below:

You can click anywhere near the words “Databases & Guides” or on the dark blue plus sign to

open the full menu of databases. Note below:

Clicking on the link “Subject Guide” indicated by the green rectangle will bring you to our subject

guides of various subject areas. Clicking on any of the A,B,C, etc. links, indicated by the red

rectangle, will bring you to all of the USM Databases whose title begins with that letter. Clicking

on the “Browse All Databases” button, indicated by the red arrow, will lead you to a complete list

of all USM Databases.

Once you choose a database, you can familiarize yourself with how the database looks and how

it functions. Let’s take a look at a few databases, to demonstrate how they are alike and how

they are different.

Note the following databases. Because different companies produce them, they have different

looks, but often they function in basically the same way. For example, here is the popular

database Academic Search Complete:

The red arrow indicates where you can enter your search strategy. The Green rectangle and

arrow indicates how to choose a particular article that interests you and then how to find your

collection of articles once you are ready to look at them more closely. The yellow rectangle

shows where you can sign into the database to keep searches and articles for a longer period of

time. Note: if you do not sign into the database your work will not be saved.

Here is another database at USM. Note the differences and similarities.

Similar to the other database, the red arrow indicates where to enter your search terms. The

Sign-in for this database, indicated in the yellow rectangle, is not through the database, but

rather connects to your Google Drive account, where you can download articles, as well as

paste URL links for articles, indicated in the green rectangle.

Let’s look at another database example.

In this database called JSTOR, as indicated by the yellow rectangle, you can sign into this

database to save your results. This database also allows you a temporary workspace for saving

items for two days. It is usually easier (and safer) to either save each item individually or sign

into the database to make use of more permanent saving features.

JSTOR shows a slight difference in the number of boxes to enter your search strategy, however

you can easily just add another search box if you wish. Occasionally you will use databases

that have only one box to enter your terms. Note below:

With only one search box, in this database called Project Muse, the best course of action is to

use AND statements with your keywords in a single box. This will begin your search so you can

determine--based on results--whether or not changes to your search are necessary.

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If we look at the next steps to search these databases you will see how to refine and work with

your search results.

In Academic Search Complete, you can limit your search results by using the following limits in

your search. See below:

The red rectangle shows where Academic Search Complete has limits for your search. Limits

allow you to be more precise in your search. For example, clicking on the “Scholarly (Peer-

reviewed) Journals” radio button (indicated by the green arrow) will search only results that are

scholarly; a date range can be limited by the moving the date-bar (indicated by the yellow

arrow) searching only publishing dates that are acceptable for your assignment; and deciding in

what type of sources you will find your information (magazines, newspapers, academic journals,

etc) is as easy as clicking the radio button indicated by the purple arrow under the heading

“Source Types.”

You will see that many databases have limiting features. They are in different places, or orders

but usually serve the same function. Note the following examples below:

Gale Academic OneFile Database:

JSTOR:

Project Muse:

As you can probably understand, databases have one job: To help you FIND ARTICLES! You

will need to choose your keywords and/or phrases, and then LIMIT or NARROW or FILTER

your search to get a more useful collection of articles for your project or paper.

Next we will demonstrate how to obtain those great articles once you find them!

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In Academic Search Complete and other databases, once you have a collection of articles, you

want to find the great ones! By using the abstract (purple tab below) you can decide if an

article is for you. Next you might want to save the article (yellow tab below) by sending it to your

email, thumbdrive, or printer. Keep the citation ready (red tab) when you are ready to write your

paper to give the author of the article credit. Do you want to just read it on your computer? You

can do that too! (Green tab) See below:

In the Gale Database sightly different locations:

JSTOR displays the following:

And finally Project Muse:

There are many similarities between the databases that will help you navigate them, even if they

are not really in the same location! Keep in mind that most databases have the same

functionality, and that a quick perusal of the website may help you find all the services you are

used to using! Remember that Asking a Librarian is a great way to help you save time and

better understand our databases at USM. Contact the USM Libraries anytime! Phone:(207) 780-

4272 Email: usm.ref@maine.edu ASK a Librarian Chat: https://libanswers.usm.maine.edu/