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WRI 227: Technical Report Writing

What are Databases?

Article databases are tools you can use to find articles on a variety of topics. Some databases are interdisciplinary (they cover multiple subjects/topics) and some are subject-specific (they specialize in providing articles on a single subject). Use the tabs below to explore different kinds of databases, and use the Tips section to learn how to search in databases. 

Databases

Databases require a different kind of search technique. Instead of entering a long string of text, you connect your search terms using Boolean Operators: AND, OR and NOT. The diagram below shows the effect of using each of the Boolean Operators. The colored area indicates the volume of items that will be retrieved in each case.
 
 Venn diagram showing Boolean Operators

 

Start your article search in an interdisciplinary database:    

VIDEO: How to use databases from EBSCO (4 min.)

Google Scholar is another good option because it covers many different subjects:    

VIDEO: How to set up Google Scholar (1 min.)

Note: If you find an article in Google Scholar and it doesn't link you back to the OT Library, you can submit a request to get the article from another library for free.  

Exploring a topic related to your major? Try a subject-specific database.

Click one of the links below to explore databases focused on your subject:

  BUSINESS

    COMPUTER SCIENCE

   EDUCATION

   MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

  HEALTH & MEDICINE

   PSYCHOLOGY

SUBJECT DATABASES FOR ADDITIONAL MAJORS