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So your professor says that you need to use the library's databases
for you have no idea what that means he didn't cover in class and you're
starting to panic
you're used to search in Google sure we
all like Google it's what you're used to
it's easy keep in mind though that Google was not always appropriate for
academic work
Google works really well for lots of stuff
but the library can offer you stuff beyond Google too
yes there is stuff beyond Google
did you know as a USU student that you have additional options for your research
when doing research especially for literature review
USU Merrill-Cazier Library offers you a wide array of databases
specific to your major and on almost any topic
searching in the databases will help you get a more focused search
so that you can find articles relevant to your topic
which will free up your time
and you will get articles you can even get in Google
... for free since you are a USU student. Articles that have been reviewed by experts
in the field for their quality and accuracy.
online articles that don't cost you money just to read them
and if we don't have an article that you need you can request it using
interlibrary loan
so let's back up for a moment what exactly are library databases.
A database such as academic search premier
or LexisNexis both pictured here are like search engines
for articles except that they're better
especially when you have a research paper due. You can refine your search
that you only get scholarly articles
narrow your search using keywords and print the full text of the articles
so if you want a scholarly article
also commonly called peer reviewed articles you can flip through a journal
like the one pictured here
which might have five or six articles in it
but you'd be much better off
searching a database that includes hundreds
of journals and thousands articles. Try it yourself today
go to the library's website at library.usu.edu
and then click on articles and databases on the left side of the page
you will then be taken to a big listing data of databases organized by subject
the library subscribes to over 200 databases
choose the discipline the most closely matches your topic
and start searching. Good luck and remember the library is here to help