A database is a searchable collection of information. A research database is where you find journal, magazine, and newspaper articles also. Each database contains thousands of articles published in many different journals, allowing you to find relevant articles faster than you would by searching individual journals.
It might be helpful for you to learn more about research databases, especially if you frequently conduct research for your job or as part of your academic program. Thus, the advantages of using a research database are discussed in this article, along with a list of databases you can use to acquire information.
ADVANTAGES OF USING DATABASES FOR RESEARCH
The following are a few advantages to the use of research databases;
Reliable sources
Research databases contain papers and other materials written by experts in particular disciplines. As a result, they are typically more trustworthy than a source you may locate via a standard search engine. You can acquire support for your work and guarantee that you use accurate information by using trusted sites. When studying a subject you are unfamiliar with, knowing that a source you find through a database is trustworthy can save you time and give you peace of mind.
Citations
Citations are frequently included in the sources you often discover in a research database for any data they used from other sources. They frequently include a reference you can use to acknowledge that particular source. Therefore, using the source in a research paper or presentation can help you save time and guarantee that you correctly reference the source. Databases frequently provide citations in a variety of styles, for instance MLA, APA, and Chicago.
Accessibility
Research databases come in a wide variety, for instance some are available for free, while some are paid for. Similarly, most databases are for a particular field while some are general purposes This may make them more accessible to academics and professionals. Professionals can easily locate peer-reviewed, scholarly sources using research databases. This experience differs from using a conventional search engine in that it requires more time and effort to sift through the results to pick one that is relevant and trustworthy.
EXAMPLES OF DATABASES
The following are a few examples of databases that would be fully discussed in our next article;
- Scopus
- PubMed
- Web of Science
- JSTOR
- Core
- Science Direct
- Eric
- EBSCO
- Dryad
- JURN
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN USING AN INTERNET AND A DATABASE
Using a database for the location of resources is quite different from using a search engine. Here’s what CSB/JSU Libraries has to say
| Internet | Database | |
| Examples | Google, Wikipedia | Academic Search Premier, JSTOR, ScienceDirect |
| Authority/Credentials | Anyone can publish and anyone does. Difficult to verify credentials. Results are not always scholarly. | Authority/credentials are guaranteed. Most articles are scholarly and peer-reviewed. |
| Results | Thousands. Duplicates are not filtered out. Many are not scholarly. | Hundreds or fewer. Duplicates are filtered out. You can limit to full text. |
| Relevance | Lots of “noise” because there are no subject headings assigned. Information can be biased, untrue, or irrelevant. | Databases focus on specific subjects. Offer fewer but more relevant results. Results are from scholarly publishers and authors. |
| Limiters | Can limit by document type such as pdf, doc) and source (for instance gov, org, com) | Can limit by date, document type, language, format, peer reviewed status, full text availability, and more. |
| Stability of information | Information from the Internet is unstable. It can disappear at any time. Researchers will often be asked to pay a fee to access journal articles. | Databases are a collection of articles that have appeared in journals. This makes their status more stable than the Internet. |
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