Library databases, rather than being a direct source of information, collect and describe content (articles, conference presentations, films, etc) so that you can easily search it. When looking for articles you may be searching in a database, but they were originally published in a journal, which is then collected and described by the database.
Just as you may watch a TV show or clip in many places (TV, show website, YouTube, Netflix, channel or show app) your sources can be distributed many ways, including in library databases. Let's compare:
Cable TV |
Library Databases |
Discussion |
Provider: Comcast, Cox |
Provider/Vendor: EBSCO, Ithaka S+R |
You typically won't see the name of the provider on our database lists, but you may see it in login and email settings. |
Channel: Comedy Central |
Databases: SocIndex with Full Text, Academic Search Complete, JSTOR |
This where most students begin their search. |
TV Show:
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,
followed by
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah* |
Journal: Family Law Quarterly |
Sometimes faculty will recommend specific journals. You can figure out how to access them by using our Journals by Title search. |
Season: 5th Season, 2001 |
Volume: Volume 50, 2016 |
When journals were only published in print a full year would be bound together into a single volume, which looks like a book. We still use the word "volume" for journals that are published digitally and in print. You can find bound journals on the second floor of the library. |
Episode: February 13 |
Issue: Issue 3, Fall |
Just as a TV show may have a special episode, some journals have special issues, with a range of articles on a single topic from many experts. You can browse by issue in our databases too. |
Segment: Kermit the Frog as Guest |
Article: Until the Client Speaks: Reviving the Legal-Interest Model for Prevebal Children |
While you'll use articles to support your research paper, they were created and shared in a larger context, just like a single clip or segment of a show. |
*Sometimes journal names change too! Ask the librarians if you're having trouble finding the journal title or if it has changed.