Databases are searchable banks of academic resources (typically journal articles but they also include dissertations, book chapters, etc.). The Library has subscriptions to lots of different databases; some of these are subject specific (e.g. APA PsycInfo), whilst others are multi-disciplinary (e.g. Scopus or Academic Search Complete). Most databases provide the full-text for
How to search
Databases are best searched using keyword searching. This means breaking your search question or topic down into the key concepts which define it. You then need to think of alternative keywords/synonyms which can be used for each concept to make your search as inclusive as possible.
For example, if you wanted to find literature relating to disinformation about climate change on social media, this search can be broken down into three concepts: climate change, disinformation and social media. You would then think of alternative keywords for each concept. For example, climate change could also be global warming or climate emergency. Disinformation could also be fake news or misinformation. And social media could include the different social media types: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Reddit, YouTube etc. You would then combine your search with the Boolean operators AND/OR which tell the database how to run the search (the advanced search screen facilitates this).
Use speech marks to search for phrases - e.g., "global warming" - this tells the database to search for this exact phrase with the words in that order rather than two separate keywords which don't need to appear together. Truncation (typically the * symbol) is another really useful device to use when searching. This tells the database to search for any keywords beginning with the truncated root - for example auti* will find autism, autistic, autism spectrum disorder (but not ASC).
See the screenshot below as to how to structure this search using the Advanced search and Boolean operators.
The American Psycholgical Association's database of abstracts of journal articles, book chapters, books and dissertations in psychology and related disciplines. Coverage is from the 19th century to the present.
Full-text, peer-reviewed scholarly and scientific articles in psychology from the American Psychological Association. Coverage spans 1894 to present.
Professionally indexed, the PsycTESTS® database is an extensive collection of items associated with psychological measures, scales, surveys, and other instruments essential to the research needs of professionals, students, and educators across the behavioural and social sciences.
Focused on a collection of instrumentation tools developed for research but not made commercially available, PsycTESTS helps researchers easily find scales and measures for their own use. PsycTESTS is an indispensable resource for researchers looking to conduct, create, or measure research in multiple fields of study
Access to a ready, reliable resource for scholars and researchers, practitioners, teachers, and students to access classic, contemporary, and cutting edge scholarship in psychology, much of which is now available in online venues. As Oxford Bibliographies in Psychology expands, it will reflect changes and developments in this increasingly interdisciplinary “hub” science.
Citations to literature on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other psychological effects of trauma. Coverage is from 1871-current.
Full text for nursing and allied health journals with coverage dating back to 1981. Includes RCNi journals.
Access to authoritative medical information on medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, pre-clinical sciences, and much more. Created by the National Library of Medicine, MEDLINE uses MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) indexing with tree, tree hierarchy, subheadings and explosion capabilities to search citations from over 4,800 current biomedical journals.
The most comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses from around the world, spanning from 1743 to the present day and offering full text for graduate works added since 1997, along with selected full text for works written prior to 1997. It contains a significant amount of new international dissertations and theses both in citations and in full text.
If you wish to access full text theses, please make sure the "Full text" option is ticked under the search bar.
Comprehensive sports and sports medicine database with full-text coverage dating back to 1985. Includes content from therapy to recreation, focusing on all aspects of fitness and health relating to sports medicine and related fields.
Abstract and index database of articles from academic journals covering the sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities.
Access journals, reference works and current protocols covering a range of scientific, medical, technical and professional disciplines.
Signing into MyEBSCO (just click on the top left sign-in option - there is no need to create an account) will allow you to:
