You have a research project to complete. How do you choose the best academic research database?

1 What are academic research databases?

Academic research databases are online collections of scholarly publications, such as journals, books, reports, dissertations, and more. They provide access to high-quality and peer-reviewed information that can support your arguments, provide evidence, and fill knowledge gaps. Academic research databases usually cover specific disciplines or fields of study, such as humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, or engineering. Some examples are JSTOR, Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed.

3 How do you choose the best one?

When selecting the best academic research database for your project, there are several factors to consider, such as your topic, discipline, level of study, and availability. Before you begin your search, ask yourself questions like: what is your research question or problem? What kind of sources do you need? What is your discipline or field of study? What is your level of study? And what is your availability? You should also think about the main concepts or keywords that define it, whether you need primary or secondary sources, quantitative or qualitative data, and if you have access to the database through your institution or library.

4 How do you compare and evaluate them?

When searching for a suitable academic research database for your research project, you should compare and evaluate them based on several criteria. Consider the scope of the database - does it cover topics, disciplines, and sources that match your research question or problem? Additionally, assess the quality of the sources; are they reliable and credible? Make sure to check that the database is up-to-date with publication dates, updates, and revisions to ensure it reflects the current state of knowledge in your field. Moreover, consider how relevant and applicable the sources are for your research project. Finally, assess the accessibility of the database - is it easy to use and access? Does it have a user-friendly interface with clear instructions and helpful features?

5 How do you use them effectively?

Once you have selected the best academic research database for your project, you should use it in an effective way to find and retrieve the sources you need. To optimize your search, begin by planning your search strategy. This involves defining your research question or problem and using keywords and Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) to create search queries. Additionally, you can apply filters and modifiers to refine your search results by criteria such as date, language, source type, subject, author, or title. After you have evaluated your results and selected the most relevant and reliable sources for your research project, save them in a folder or a citation manager and cite them properly according to the citation style required by your instructor or discipline.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?