Your instructor wants you to use trustworthy information for a research project using the library's resources; but you wonder "why can't I just Google my topic?"
Here's why...
So what is a database?
It is an organized collection of information that allows a user to search for a particular topic, article, or book. You can search for these in a variety of ways, for example, with keywords, subject, author, or title.
Information found through internet search engines such as Google are free, but the best information is costly. The library pays a fee to database providers for scholarly peer-reviewed articles.
Accessing Databases from Off Campus
Access is available to students on all SRC campuses and from off campus with your my.src.edu (MySRC) gmail logon. When prompted, select SRC gmail. You will be redirected to the SRC Single-sign-on (SSO) to sign in to use any of our online databases form off campus. For more information, check out the OpenAthens Libguide.
Here's an excellent video created by librarians from North Carolina State University that discusses evaluating resources.
NCSU Libraries video
Shared by North Carolina State University with a Creative Commons license.
| Use Library Databases When: | Use The Internet When: |
| You need peer-reviewed articles | You are willing to evaluate the content of websites. If so, view the Be Your Own Fact Checker guide as a reference. |
| You want to save time searching for your topic, using filters and Boolean searches | You want to access information available on government (.gov) websites |
| You want to save time looking for the citation information of an article, the author etc. | You want to access commercial/business (.com) websites​ |
| You don't want information in a database to disappear overnight like it can on the internet | You want to find information on associations, organizations, or groups, or personal web pages related to your topic |
| You are looking for encyclopedia overviews of your topic | You don't mind viewing advertisements |
| Library Databases | The Internet |
| Purchased by libraries | Free to anyone |
| Content is evaluated for authority and accuracy, and is licensed for electronic distribution | Anyone can publish to the internet |
| Information is stable | Websites come and go |
| Organized and indexed by professionals so the content can be accessed and updated | No official body oversees the organization and evaluation of sources found on a specific page |
|
• Can search by specific subject headings and descriptors • Can search in specific fields such as author and title • Can filter search results |
• Only searches by matching the keyword entered by the user • Difficult to narrow your search, your result list is often a mix of information |
When should I use a database, and when should I use a search engine?
It depends on the type of information you need.
• If you want to know how depression affects self-care in diabetes patients, your best option is to use a library database.
• If you want data from the most recent Census, using a search engine to find the appropriate government website will work.
Created by Marla Turgeon