An article database allows you to search for articles on a particular topic. Article databases differ by:
Subject coverage: Some databases index articles from a specific discipline, such as literature or biology, while other databases index articles from many different disciplines. ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Document type: |
Time coverage: Some databases index articles published several hundred years ago up to the present, while others only index recently published articles. ![]() |
Since databases contain different sets of article records, one database might provide you with better results than another -- so try searching several!
*Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com (with the exception of calendar image, which is from openclipart.org)
Recommended article databases for this class:
Save time by searching like a librarian! Try these three strategies for creating search queries:
A. Combine your keywords into a search query: |
|
Link main ideas together with AND:
|
![]() |
Link related terms together with OR:
|
![]() |
Exclude specific terms using NOT :
|
![]() |
B. Use quotation marks to search words as a phrase: |
|
Using quotation marks " " to group two or more words will tell the database or search engine to search them as a single concept.
|
|
C. Save time by truncating keywords: |
|
In many databases, the * character is a wildcard that tells the database to search for multiple characters in place of the *.
(the orca example illustrates how truncation can sometimes lead to unexpected results) |