158 8.1 GatherinG and UsinG sUpportinG Material
years. But users need to keep in mind that anyone, regardless of his or her exper-
tise, can add to or change the content of any entry, thereby limiting Wikipedia’s
reliability and its appropriateness for academic use.
Later in this chapter we provide additional criteria to help you make your
final selection of supporting material from both electronic and print resources.Online Databases
Online databases provide access to bibliographic information, abstracts, and
full texts for a variety of resources, including periodicals, newspapers, govern-
ment documents, and even books. Like Web sites, online databases are reached
via a networked computer. Unlike Web sites, however, most databases are re-
stricted to patrons of libraries that subscribe to them. The How To box tells you
how to locate and search most online databases.
Many online databases that began as computerized indexes now provide
access to full texts of the resources themselves. Your library may subscribe to
several or all of these popular full-text databases:- ABA/Inform Global. This resource offers many full-text articles in business
and trade publications from 1971 to the present. - Academic Search Complete. This popular database offers many full-text
articles from 1865 to the present, covering a wide variety of subjects. - JSTOR. This is a multi-subject, full-text database of journal articles from the
first volume to the present. - LexisNexis Academic. Focusing on business, industry, and law, this database
provides many full-text articles from newspapers, magazines, journals,
newsletters, and wire services. Dates of coverage vary. - Newspaper Source. This database offers many full-text articles from more
than 40 U.S. and international newspapers; more than 330 full-text television
Find and Use Online Databases
- Go to your library’s homepage, and log in with your username and password.
- Determine the available databases. Databases are usually listed according to type and/or
subjects, as well as alphabetically. - Search the database. Each database opens with a search box, into which you type relevant
information such as keywords and date ranges. Most also allow Boolean and other types of
advanced searches. - Multiply your search. In some cases, you may be able to search more than one database at
a time by searching providers that offer access to multiple databases. ProQuest, for example,
provides databases of alternative newspapers, criminal justice periodicals, doctoral disserta-
tions, and education journals as well as its popular ABI/INFORM Global database of business
and finance publications.
HOW TO