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Wellesley College Research Guides

WRIT 141: The Novel of Manners

Intro to Library Databases

What is a database?

Databases are resources that contain information that is organized to make it easier to search and access.

The most common kind of library databases contain articles from academic journals and other publications, but there are many kinds of databases — databases for images, videos, data, news, and many other kinds of sources!

Why should I use a library database?

  • Databases contain information not available through general internet search engines (such as Google)
    • Many articles that are usually behind paywalls can be accessed through library databases. Wellesley College subscribes to nearly 400 different databases!
  • Databases are often specialized by subject area (such as history, literature, sociology, art, psychology, etc.).
    • Searching in subject-specific databases means you're more likely to find relevant sources.
    • Subject-specific databases often offer special filters or search features designed to help researchers in that subject find what they need.
      • For example, in a history database, you might be able to limit your search results to those covering a particular historical period.
  • To find additional databases relevant to your research interests, check out the Library's Databases A-Z list and use the Subjects or Database Types menu.

Key Databases for Scholarly Analysis in History & Literature

Search Tip: Some databases search a small amount of information about each source, rather than the full text of the source itself. Trying a variety of keywords is often essential to finding what you need. Make note of relevant keywords and subject terms that come up in your initial searches, and use those terms to find more. See more Search Tips below and on the Search Tips & Tutorials page. 

Quick Search Tips

These tips work in SuperSearch, the catalog, and most databases.

Use quotation marks " " to search words as an exact phrase. This will narrow your results.

"gilded age"

Use AND to combine multiple concepts in your search. This will narrow your results.

"child rearing" AND "gilded age"

Use OR to find sources that have either keyword or phrase. This will expand your results. Group these related terms in parentheses, so the database interprets them first. The following search will find results that have any one of the terms in the first set of parentheses along with any one of the terms in the second set.

("child rearing" OR motherhood) AND ("gilded age" OR "progressive era")

Use an asterisk * to find variant endings. This will expand your results.

("child rearing" OR mother*AND ("gilded age" OR "progressive era")

Search the Library Catalog

Catalog Search Tips

Try a keyword search. Once you find a book that is relevant to your topic, click on the title of that book, then look for Subjects to help you find "more like this."

Sample keyword search:

 

leads to linked subject terms and more books on this topic:

 

Not finding enough, or an item checked out? Search WorldCat and request a copy through Interlibrary Loan.