Database Finder

What is a database and how can it help me? Help for off-campus access. Problems or questions? Call (806) 894-9611 x2330 Levelland or x4682 Reese.

Choose a category:

General Topic Cosmetology Heating, AC & Refrigeration
Agriculture Criminal Justice History and Government
Art Drafting Technology Machinist Trades
Automotive Technology Education Mathematics
Behavioral Science Electronics Technology Music
Biology Engineering Office Technology
Business/Accounting English Physical Education
Chemistry Fire Technology Sound Technology
Communication Foreign Language Theatre Arts
Computers Health Sciences Welding


General Topic

Database: Vendor (interface): What you'll get:
Academic Search Complete EBSCO Articles for academic and general audience. Full text articles, many from peer-reviewed publications.
Academic Onefile GaleGroup Citations and full text for scholarly and general interest journals in all academic disciplines.
MasterFILE Premier EBSCO Full text articles as well as an image collection, reference, biographies, and primary source documents.
TOPICsearch EBSCO Explore social, political & economic issues, scientific discoveries and other popular topics. Full text from diverse sources.
Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia   EBSCO Encyclopedic entries covering a variety of subject areas.
MAS Ultra - School Edition EBSCO Image collection of photos, maps and flags. Full text from general interest and current events publications. Pamphlets, reference books, biographies, primary source documents are also included.
Lexis Nexis Reed Elsevier Inc Full text documents from news, business, legal, medical and reference publications.
Newspaper Source   EBSCO Selected full text from national and international newspapers. Also contains full text television & radio news transcripts, and selected full text from regional newspapers.
Texas Reference Center EBSCO Full text journals and books about Texas history, ethnic & cultural diversity, gender studies, literature, public health, business as well as home & garden and sports & leisure.
ArticleFirst OCLC Citations for academic and general audiences.
General Reference Center Gold GaleGroup Collection of newspapers, reference books, magazines, and trade publications covering areas of general interest. 

Journal Search

Database: Vendor (interface): What you'll get:
TDNet Journal Locator TexShare Searchable list of ALL the journal titles available from all of the different TexShare database providers. List includes available holdings and indication if full-text is available.
Directory of Open Access Journals Lund University Libraries Free, full text, international scientific and scholarly journals, covering all subjects.

For a list of websites to search for general topic information, check the SPC Library's Webpage Finder.

Definition of Database:  A database is a collection of information organized and searchable so that you can easily find what you are looking for. A phone book is an example of a database. It is arranged alphabetically by last name and by subject. In libraries, you use databases to find articles and citations. 

Libraries subscribe to databases that provide the same information that periodical indexes in print form provide. Databases (believe it or not) actually make research easier. In the past, researchers would search for information by first selecting the multi-volume print index they wanted to use and then searching each year's volume to find what was published that year on their subject.  

Now indexes can be searched online by entering keywords into a search engine. The search engine then retrieves relevant citations and often times the full text of the article. Searches can often be limited to a specific publication, a set of dates, peer reviewed publications, or a particular language. 

Definition of Citation:  A citation is a statement that gives researchers the information they need to locate a book, video, or an article.  A citation tells you how to find the article, it does not give you the text of the article.  

In the following example of a citation, Andrew DuBrock is the author, "Singing and Playing at the Same Time" is the title of the article, and Acoustic Guitar is the title of the publication the article was published in.  If you wanted to read this article, you would first find out if South Plains College Library subscribed to Acoustic Guitar (we do!), then you would locate the July 2009 issue, turn to page 40 and there would be the article. 

Example:
DuBrock, Andrew.  "Singing and Playing at the Same Time."  Acoustic Guitar.  July 2009, p 40-42.