What is a Database?
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A database is a searchable collection of materials - mostly journal or newspaper articles, but sometimes other types of material such as encyclopaedia entries, market research reports, financial information, etc. The Library subscribes to almost 300 separate databases and each may contain many thousands of individual sources within them. Databases allow students to search for information on a topic by (amongst others) keyword, subject, author, title, and phrase. They are a very efficient way to find relevant information. Most databases allow students to restrict their results to those of higher academic quality, e.g. from peer reviewed or scholarly sources, the contents of which have been written by experts. Full text articles are provided where available, either within the specific database or via the The Library's Information Skills Tutorial will help you identify your keywords, use search operators, truncation / wildcards and much more. |
To access databases that are provided by the Library:
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1. Logon to the the Portal at https://portal.ulster.ac.uk using your student ID number and network password. Select the Library tile. 2. Select Databases from the Quick Links for a searchable databases page. Most of the databases are available both on and off campus.( Note the "special instructions" column for information about any additional password instructions and information about accessing the database off campus.) Access to all our resources is via Open Athens. If you have any difficulties logging in check details on our Open Athens page and you still have problems use our off campus guide or contact a member of the AHSS team. 3. Select Subject Guides from Quick Links, choose your subject and click on the tab for Databases recommend for that subject. For further information on other electronic resources see the 'Journals ' and 'Using ebooks' tabs in this guide. |
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You need to be able to create a successful search strategy using the range of boolean connectors, truncation and wildcard operators employed by the various databases to which the Library subscribes. The pdf below contains a table of the operators used by the most heavily used databases. Always check the 'Help' section of any database to ensure you are using the appropriate search functions. The Library's Information Skills Tutorial will help you identify your keywords, use search operators, truncation / wildcards and much more. |
List of general databases for AHSS Research, more details given on this tab General Databases for AHSS Research
See individual subject guides for specific databases for a particular subject area.
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For additional help on accessing our electronic resources (especially when off-campus) please see the Off-campus Trouble-shooting Guide. See the Library Help page for online Library Chat, the Library Help knowledgebase and more. |
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The USearch service searches across many, but not all, of the Library databases simultaneously. It provides a good starting point to find out what is available on a subject but for complex searches it is still necessary to search the individual databases. For Education these include:
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