Why Do I Need Library-Subscribed Databases?
Leanne Wells
Introduction
It is very easy for students to overlook a wide range of options for locating quality, timely business information that doesn’t involve using Google. These options come in the form of library-subscribed databases that can help to improve your ability to find credible business research.
University libraries purchase access to a variety of databases to facilitate faculty and student research. These databases are powerful, organized electronic collections of records that, when queried, can link you to a wide array of quality resources, such as articles, books, conference proceedings, reviews, dissertations, and reports in your field of study.
To discover more about why databases are so important, please watch this YouTube video from Yavapai College Library:
Library-subscribed databases can range from those that search general collections to others that contain highly specialized, subject-specific materials.
Library-subscribed databases allow historians to search for information by era; biologists are able to search by taxonomic data; business professors can search for scholarly business articles specific to their particular field of study, e.g., accounting, finance, marketing or organizational behaviour.
The same is true for students; using library-subscribed databases enables students to simultaneously search through thousands of scholarly journals and research reports at the same time to find useful information about your topic.
How good you are at finding information depends on how well you understand how databases function.
Free Versus Fee-Based Databases
Take a few minutes to think about your own information searching strategies when using public search engines like Google. First, the quantity of information you are able to find using Google is likely to be overwhelming, but what about the QUALITY of the information?
Keep in mind that the quality of your academic work can only be as good as the quality of the information you are able to find.
What free websites would you feel comfortable using in your university assignment? Government sites (e.g., Statistics Canada) and trade associations are excellent examples of quality sources that provide access to information freely.
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The majority of the scholarly information in the academic world is only available through electronic databases specifically designed for researchers in a particular field of study or discipline.
Fortunately for current UNB faculty and students, the licensing charges/subscription fees required to access our electronic databases at UNB are paid by UNB Libraries!
Licensed Databases at UNB
UNB Libraries subscribes to licensed access for over 200 electronic article and research databases! You can find an alphabetical list of these databases on UNB Libraries’ homepage by selecting Databases.
Please take a minute to watch the following video to see how to access the library’s article databases:
The licensed databases that UNB Libraries provides are powerful search tools that sort through credible content from numerous publications (journals, magazines and newspapers). They allow you to craft and re-craft your searches to meet your research needs.
Though some of our licensed databases have different interfaces, they operate according to similar principles. Consequently, when a student searches our licensed databases, your results will link you directly to the full-text of an article or to a “Check for full-text” link which will direct your query to find the article in UNB’s print and electronic holdings.
Using Library Research Guides
Since UNB Libraries provide many options for databases, it can be difficult to know where to start looking or which databases to use.
Our library research guides provide students with a handpicked collection of library-subscribed resources to help you locate research in your discipline. These guides are curated by librarians who are experts in the resources you need in your particular subject area. Library research guides are a great first place to start your research!
Please watch this video created by our library staff at UNB Libraries which explains how to use our library research guides:
Business students will find the databases most relevant to their research by scrolling down to Key Resources by Subject and selecting the Business & Management research guide.
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Databases must be accessed through the library’s website to ensure that students are properly authenticated and have full access to our subscribed content.