Two Types of Research Databases
Which research database to use depends upon your topic.

1. General Research Databases

  •  Is your topic general or cross-disciplinary?
  •  Currently in the news?

If so, start with one of the general research databases. These cover a wide range of subjects and often index a mixture of popular and scholarly sources. This is often a good place to begin research. Examples of general research databases and the kinds of articles they identify are:

Periodical Abstracts
 Indexes articles from magazines and journals on a range of topics from 1995 to the present. Most are full text.
NewsBank Indexes full text articles from Michigan newspapers, from 1991 to present.

InfoTrac
Expanded Academic ASAP

Indexes articles from magazines and newspapers on many topics, from 1980 to present. Most are full text.
Permission pending from FirstSearch, Newsbank and Gale.
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