A Library database provides quality information that is available to you online. Library databases contain information such as:
scholarly peer-reviewed articles
articles from journals, magazines, and newspapers on many topics
newspaper articles
trade publications
book reviews
magazine articles
entries from encyclopedias or dictionaries
dissertations/theses
Trout Library subscribes to 30 subscription-based databases. Subscription-based databases require user login authentication to access off-campus. You will need to enter the username and password to access the database off-campus.
You can find the Library Database Password List as an icon on the Harcum Hatch portal. When you click on the icon, it will take you to the page that lists the usernames and passwords that are needed to access the Library's subscription-based databases.
The Library also provides links to 27 open access databases which are freely available on the Internet.
To access the Library Databases, click on the Databases link for more information.
Use Keywords
Keywords are descriptive words or important concepts. Search using just keywords rather than full sentences.
Omit words like "the", "a", "are", "it" from the search. Most databases do not search for these words and they can impact the search results.
Identify keywords from your background research.
Brainstorm synonyms for keywords and search all possible concepts.
Look up your keywords in the database Subject Headings or Thesaurus section to determine if you are using the correct phrase or spelling.
Improve Search Results by Connecting Keywords
Use AND to retrieve results with both concepts (mouse AND rat)
Use OR to retrieve either keyword (mouse OR rat)
Use NOT to omit a keyword (mouse NOT rat)
Put quotation marks around phrases to retrieve results with the exact phrase ("mouse and rat")
The asterisk (*) wildcard, also known as the truncation wildcard, is generally used to find word endings. (Metaboli* will find results with metabolism, metabolic, metabolite, metabolites, metabolizing, and metabolically)
Focus Results with Limiters
Full Text will limit results to articles with full text.
Peer Reviewed limits results to articles from peer-reviewed journals.
Scholarly Journals limits results to articles from academic publishers of both "peer-reviewed" and not "peer-reviewed" journals intended for an academic audience.
Date Published can be used to limit results to a specified date range.
Academic Search Complete provides full-text access to over 5,000 journals and magazines, including many peer-reviewed articles, plus many Associated Press videos covering a wide range of academic disciplines.
CINAHL with Full Text provides extensive coverage of nursing and allied health literature. Access a wide range of topics, including biomedicine, alternative medicine, consumer health, and various allied health fields.
Consumer Health Complete offers a wide range of consumer-oriented health information, covering mainstream medicine as well as complementary, holistic, and integrative approaches to health and wellness.
CREDO Reference provides access to a collection of encyclopedias, dictionaries, and reference works covering a wide range of subjects, including art, history, literature, music, religion, and science.
DOAB: Directory of Open Access Books is a database offering access to scholarly, peer-reviewed open access books, helping users find and explore a diverse range of academic resources from reputable publishers.
DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals indexes and provides access to high-quality, peer-reviewed open access journals across various disciplines.
EBSCO eBook: Academic Collection features a vast library of eBooks across diverse academic disciplines. Access thousands of titles from top publishers and university presses for research and learning.
EBSCO Discovery Service provides a single search interface to explore a wide range of research databases, including full-text journal articles, eBooks, and catalog records.
EBSCO Full Text Finder provides access to journals and e-books through an advanced knowledge base and link resolver, integrated with EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS).
Access over 30,000 films, including independent and documentary titles that address important social and cultural issues. Featuring renowned collections such as The Criterion Collection and The Great Courses, Kanopy is an invaluable resource for your studies and research.
NewsBank offers full-text access to over 8,000 news publications from nearly 200 countries, including major national and international newspapers as well as local and regional sources for a broad perspective on global and local news.
PLOS ONE is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal covering a broad range of science and medicine disciplines.
PubMed provides access to over 37 million citations from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books, offering comprehensive coverage of biomedical literature with many citations linking to full-text content through PubMed Central and publisher websites.
ScienceOpen provides access to over 28 million articles across all scientific disciplines, with tools for advanced search and discovery.
SIRS Issues Researcher provides in-depth analysis of key social issues with diverse viewpoints from over 2,000 global sources, offering comprehensive coverage of current debates and research.
Violence & Abuse Abstracts offers comprehensive coverage of research on violence and abuse, including family violence, sexual assault, and emotional abuse, providing detailed studies and discussions on these critical issues.
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