What is a Database?
PCC's Subscription Databases
- By Title or By Research Topic
- Also, check the subject research guides for databases related to your area of study.
A database is a collection of organized information. Believe it or not, a grocery list scribbled on a scrap of paper is a database. So is a printed phone book. Usually, when people talk about databases though, they are talking about a searchable online service. Some databases such as the DMV database are only available to people who have permission to use them. Others, like the library catalog or Dex Knows are freely viewable.
In libraryland and in classes, the word database can mean subscription database. A subscription database is a searchable collection of published information from a variety of sources, such as academic journals, magazines, government documents, essays multimedia. The library buys subscriptions to databases (the way it subscribes to individual magazines and journals) for student use. Most subscription databases have some full-text articles, and some citations to article, without the full-text. The library will get you a copy of any article if you fill out an Interlibrary loan form.
See a list of the subscription databases at PCC by title or by research topic. Not sure where to start? Begin your search in a subject guide.
Internet for Free vs. Internet for Fee (you get what you pay for)
Although websites and databases are both electronic resources, the quality of information you get from each can vary wildly.
Google is a great place to find a local plumber but you'll probably have no idea whether that plumber is timely, cheap, or does good work.
Library databases, on the other hand, are useful because peer-reviewed articles contained within a database has already been checked for quality and authority (well-researched).
There is also great information available for free on the Internet, it just takes a little more work to use it. The Website Evaluation Checklist will help you to think critically about the information you find on the Internet and whether or not it is useful.
Remember that Google Scholar works pretty much just like Google with the added bonus of only searching scholarly resources. Find out more about how to search the web.
