Databases provide access to articles published in journals, newspapers and other reliable sources, often with full text.
- Select the Databases tab to access the A-Z List of Resources drop-down menu or click on A-Z List of Databases for a complete list of all databases with descriptions.
Tip: When starting your research, try the Multidisciplinary databases as they cover a wide variety of topics. - Off-campus users will be prompted to enter their Emmanuel Portal login information for access to the databases.
General Searching Strategies:
- Identify keywords that best describe the different components of your topic.
- Use AND to narrow your search to articles containing all search terms entered.
- Use OR to widen your search by retrieving articles containing at least one of the alternative search terms.
Tip: Put parentheses around alternative words and quotation marks around phrases.
Example search for finding information on high school science education in the United States: (secondary OR “high school”) AND science AND (education OR curriculum) AND “United States” Tips:
- Explore the limiting options such as Published Date and Peer-Reviewed (See How do I find peer-reviewed articles?).
- Explore searching for your terms in different field(s), e.g., Author, Title, Subject, and All Text, to see how it will affect your results. If your search returns few or no results, you might try searching for your terms in All Text.
- Note: Different database interfaces may offer different limit and search options. Search limits may only be available on Advanced Search screens.
Sample search in Academic Search Premier: The Select a Field (optional) default option searches the title, author, subject terms, and abstract in Academic Search Premier.
Further assistance:
- See Library Tutorials
- Explore FAQ: How do I access the databases off campus? and FAQ: How do I find peer-reviewed articles?
- See Ask a Librarian for reference assistance.
