Databases to Choose From

LCSC students and faculty have many databases that focus on resources in the area of Nursing and Health.

Keep in mind that there is a trade-off between the depth of coverage and the availability of full-text (that is, all the words of the article) online. A database will either cover a topic like nursing or medicine in great detail or they will provide articles in full-text, but a smaller number of articles. Unfortunately, you don't get both exhaustive coverage and full-text in any one database.

Once you get to know the databases that are available to you, you can make good decisions about the best databases to search for your topic. With experience, you will get well acquainted with the advantages and disadvantages (and ins and outs) of each database.

CINAHL	Google Scholar
Health & Wellness Resource Center	Basic BIOSIS
Health Reference Center Academic	PsycINFO
PubMed	SCIRUS

As you evaluate each database, ask yourself the following questions:

What is the content or subject area covered by this database?
How broad is its coverage? How many journals does it index, or how many article citations does it provide?
Does it provide the full-text of the articles or only citations?
Does it provide much peer-reviewed (scholarly) material?
Any other advantages or disadvantages to using this database that jump out at you?

Lewis-Clark State College • 500 8th Avenue • Lewiston, ID 83501 • (208) 792-5272
Web Site maintained by the webmaster@lcsc.edu