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A database is an organised collection or index of published data. Databases are a key resource for study or research. The Library provides access to hundreds of databases in order to make it possible for students and academics to find out what has been published on a topic.
• Some databases are multidisciplinary and index items across many subject areas.
• Some databases are subject specific and index materials from a specific subject or discipline.
• Some databases provide access to specific types of information.
To identify journal articles, books, book chapters, dissertations, etc. on a particular topic you need to use a database. The main database for Psychology is PsycINFO published by the APA. Multidisciplinary databases such as Scopus can also be very useful.
It's very simple. You can access any of the Library's databases just by searching the Library Catalogue. Simply enter the name of the database in the search box and click on the database link in the search results. Remember to log in for full access.
Searching within a Databases
When you are searching a database, you can access content by searching under:
Getting to the full-text
All databases will provide you with citations of articles relevant to your search, i.e. author name, article title, journal title, year, volume and page numbers. Many will also provide you with an abstract or short summary of the article, to help you ascertain how relevant it is going to be. Some databases even provide you with the full-text of the journal articles.
If the full-text is not immediately available you may see an SFX symbol:
SFX is a linking technology that will link you from a citation in a database to the full-text of that journal, wherever the Library has made it available (often in a different database). Simply click on the SFX icon and choose the relevant option from the menu that appears. If the Library does not have a subscription to the journal you need, you can apply for an Inter-Library Loan or Google Scholar can often point you to a freely available version of the article.
