A library database is a collection of information that often contains a wide range of source types including newspapers, magazines, academic journals, and many more. Library databases allow you to access scholarly content, making searching for peer-reviewed content quicker and easier. Broome Library has access to over 200 research databases to help you with your research.
You may be tempted to use Google for your research, and while Google can be a helpful tool there are many reasons to use a library database instead.
| Fields | Library Database | |
|---|---|---|
| Credibility | Anyone can create a webpage, there is no quality control or editorial process. | Articles are fact-checked, reviewed by editors, or peer reviewed for accuracy. |
| Limiters | Few (if any) limiters leads to too many results, which means quality information can get buried and it will take you a lot more time to go through the results. | Databases allow you to focus your search results with limiters or filters. These limiters include limiting results by date, publication, subject, graphs, audience, author, and many more. |
| Cost | Many (if not most) journal articles are not available for free online. Instead, Google will direct you to a website where you can pay for the materials (that the library likely has free access for you). | Library pays for access to scholarly materials that are hidden behind paywalls online and you can use the Interlibrary Loan program to borrow almost any source the library doesn’t currently have. |
| Algorithms and Confirmation Bias | Search results based on what it thinks you want, algorithms, your search history, and location. This can lead to confirmation bias. | Databases base your results on relevancy and the criteria of your search terms and filters. This makes it easier to find multiple perspectives in your research and prevent confirmation bias. |
| Timeliness | Familiar search engine where you can search sentences or questions in natural language. | Not as familiar and you need to select critical keywords phrases, and concepts for your search strategy. You don't use natural language. |
| Search Language | Information is constantly updated and will include immediate and current ideas, news events, and topics. | Information is not as immediate. There are many news related databases but some of them materials won't be posted in a database until a few days after they source was originally published. |