Getting Started with Library Research

Filter by Subject to find other Recommended Databases and "Best Bets":

RMIT (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) University Library, 1:56

This video starts off with a definition of what a library database is by first explaining academic journal articles. The main downfall is that it emphasizes that using journals rather than Wikipedia or a random website on Google will lead to a better grade. It does a good job of explaining about print journals and how they were organized on library shelves in the past but can now be found online through library databases, which can be interpreted like buckets (works really well with the database bucket/coffee can lesson in The Library Instruction Cookbook). The video specifically mentions that the library subscribes to databases that focus on the subjects offered at RMIT, which makes reuse a little awkward, but it is nice that is indicates that no single database will have all the information needed and that students should use a database specific to the research topic. Stop the video at 1:42 to skip over the branding and demonstrate where to find databases by subject through the UCM Library. 

1. What’s a library database?
2. What’s an academic journal?
3. Why do you use academic journal articles?
4. Where do you find library databases?
5. How do you decide which database to use?

This tutorial demonstrates how (and why) to use the thesaurus tool to find index terms or subject headings when searching PsycINFO on ProQuest.

Although primarily focused on PsycINFO, these techniques can be used in any database with a thesaurus.