{"id":207,"date":"2022-07-15T15:50:48","date_gmt":"2022-07-15T15:50:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/tlas\/?page_id=207"},"modified":"2026-02-03T19:20:45","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T19:20:45","slug":"choose-a-database","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/tlas\/instruction\/i-need-to-2\/choose-a-database\/","title":{"rendered":"Choose a Database"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Follow the steps below to find the best\u00a0database for your research.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ol>\n<li>Determine what types of sources (journal articles, magazine articles, newspaper articles, books, etc.) you need for your assignment.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Example:\u00a0Your assignment requires you to use a minimum of three scholarly articles as sources.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Brainstorm subject areas your topic falls under.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Who would be interested in your topic? Different subjects will bring different perspectives to your research.<\/p>\n<p>Example: If you are interested in finding out more about air pollution, who might write about that? An expert in <strong>political science<\/strong> might write about public policies around regulating industries that cause air pollution. Meanwhile, an expert in <strong>public health<\/strong> might write about the relationship between air pollution and asthma.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Review the Library&#8217;s <a title=\"Find Articles Guide\" href=\"http:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/tlas\/instruction\/i-need-to-2\/find-articles-guide\/\">Find Articles Guide<\/a> and select relevant subject-specific databases.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Example: If you know you need scholarly articles on air pollution from the political science field, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.library.illinois.edu\/proxy\/go.php?url=http:\/\/search.proquest.com\/pais\/advanced?accountid=14553\">PAIS Index<\/a> would be a good starting point.<\/p>\n<p>Tip:\u00a0General databases are the best starting points when you do not have much background in a particular area. Subject-specific databases assume some background knowledge and tend to be a bit more advanced.\u00a0Below are other examples of databases you might select based on the focus of your topic:<\/p>\n<table class=\"table table-striped\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th><strong>Topic<\/strong><\/th>\n<th><\/th>\n<th><strong>Focus<\/strong><\/th>\n<th><strong>Subject Area(s)<\/strong><\/th>\n<th><strong>Possible Database<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">Air Pollution<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">None<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">General Information<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><a title=\"Academic Search Complete\" href=\"https:\/\/proxy2.library.illinois.edu\/login?url=https:\/\/research.ebsco.com\/c\/2w5hhj\/search\/advanced\/filters?defaultdb=asn\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Academic Search Ultimate<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">Air Pollution<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">Air pollution and industry regulation<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">Political Science<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.library.illinois.edu\/proxy\/go.php?url=http:\/\/search.proquest.com\/pais\/advanced?accountid=14553\">PAIS Index<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">Air Pollution<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">Air pollution and asthma rates<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">Public Health<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\"><a href=\"https:\/\/proxy2.library.illinois.edu\/login?url=https:\/\/research.ebsco.com\/c\/2w5hhj\/search\/advanced\/filters?defaultdb=hxh\">Health Source: Consumer Edition<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Also check what databases subject libraries recommend.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div>Example:\u00a0If you&#8217;re doing research for a communications class, use the <a title=\"Communications Library\" href=\"http:\/\/www.library.illinois.edu\/cmx\/\">Communications Library<\/a> website\u00a0to find recommended databases.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Follow the steps below to find the best\u00a0database for your research. Determine what types of sources (journal articles, magazine articles, newspaper articles, books, etc.) you need for your assignment. Example:\u00a0Your assignment requires you to use a minimum of three scholarly articles as sources. Brainstorm subject areas your topic falls under. &nbsp; Who would be interested [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":0,"parent":284,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-207","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/tlas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/tlas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/tlas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/tlas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/113"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/tlas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/tlas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/207\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1694,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/tlas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/207\/revisions\/1694"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/tlas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/tlas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}