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Research Help: Library Databases

Find Answers and Get Research Help

Databases

Complete Database List

  • Databases contain scholarly journals & magazines, eBooks, and more
  • If you need help navigating the databases, contact the librarian at librarian@aaart.edu or stop by the library!
  • If you are off-campus, you will need the Login/Password. Email librarian@aaart.edu

We have many different databases that you can search within to find articles. You can narrow down which databases to search in by selecting the specific group related to the subject area of your research topic. If you are uncertain about what subject area your topic falls under, you can use the "Search all databases" search box in the top right. You can also consult with your instructor or the librarian for help!

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General Databases

  • ProQuest Central
    • The ultimate cross-disciplinary research tool, ProQuest Central brings together highly used databases to create the largest single academic research resource available today.
  • Gale Academic Onefile
    • Gale Academic OneFile contains peer-reviewed, full-text articles from the world's leading journals and reference sources, covering the physical sciences, technology, medicine, social sciences, the arts, theology, literature and other subjects. Includes full-text coverage of the New York Times back to 1995.
  • Credo Reference
    • Partnering with many of the world's leading publishers, Credo Reference combines publishing expertise with the latest digital technologies to unlock the knowledge value of reference material. There are over 270 titles consisting of an aggregate of 3.1 million entries all interconnected by over 100,000,000 links. 

Art-Specific Databases

Use a Database to create an MLA citation

 Use a Database to create an MLA citation 

  • Many databases can automatically create a citation for you. 
  • IMPORTANT:  Always double-check auto-generated citations against the examples in an appropriate style guide.  While database auto-cite features are a good time-saving tool, errors are common (capitalization, punctuation, date, etc.).  You'll need to fix those error by hand!

Examples of where you can find citation tools in a database:

 

 

Using the Databases

 Coming up with Search Terms 

  • You can help determine what information you need by coming up with a Research Question
    • Think of all the questions you might ask to understand your topic. Consider questions that require you to think critically about the topic, or about a specific element or certain angle on your topic.
    • Try filling in this prompt: I'm studying ______ to investigate ______ in order to understand ______ 
  • Create a list of keyword associated with your topic that you can type into the database search box
    • What else could it be called? What describes it specifically? What is it related to broadly?
    • Topics can be narrowed or broadened depending on your search terms:

General: monkeys

Narrower: howler monkeys

Broader: primates

 Getting the Full-Text of an Article 

  • Many articles that you find during your database search will be available in full-text for you to download.
  • If the full text of the article doesn't show up automatically, look for a link on the page that says "Full text". You can also often find an option on the page to "Download PDF" that will allow you to download the article to your computer.

  • However, not every article that you come upon will be available for a full-text download. If you would like to obtain the full-text of an article that the library does not have access to, we can try to order it from another library through Interlibrary Loan. Bring the article citation to the library, or contact the librarian (librarian@aaart.edu) 

 Too Many Results? 

  • Try narrowing down your results by using the database filters (usually located on the left menu of your search result page)
    • You can narrow down to selections like Document Type (Ex. Scholarly Journals) and Date Range (Ex. Search for research articles from the past 10 years only)
  • Maybe your search is too broad (general)
    • Try using narrower search terms (more specific keywords that describe your topic)
    • Try combining more keywords together in your search

 Not Enough Results? 

  • Maybe your search is too narrow (specific)
    • Try using broader search terms (more general keywords that describe your topic)
    • Maybe you have too many keywords in your search. Try a simpler search with less keywords.
  • Were you able to find at least one good article? Look for Related Articles. Many databases will automatically suggest other articles when you select an article.
  • Were you able to find at least one good article? Take a look at the References at the end of the article, you might be able to find more relevant articles here.