What are databases?
Use databases when you need to find out what has been written in journals or conference proceedings on a particular subject. Some databases also include books. In many cases, you will not get the full article from a database search - just the publication details and usually an abstract or summary. However, many databases do have links to our full text electronic journals – look for a button that says “Find Full Text” or “Check Birkbeck Library”. Databases may cover hundreds or thousands of journals, so Birkbeck Library will not hold or have access to them all - see Finding material elsewhere.
How do I search them?
Look through our list of databases (go
to the eLibrary and click on Databases
and Online Resources) and choose the one(s)
that are most appropriate for your subject area.
Think about your topic carefully as outlined in
What is my topic? Don’t forget
to use the database's help feature. In most databases
you can either print your results, email them to
yourself, save them to disk or download into a bibliographic
management package such as Endnote.
