Exploring article databases#
EXERCISE: Database Comparison#
Article databases provide additional functionality to guide subject-specific queries. In this exercise, you will select two databases from the “A-Z Databases” list for Engineering on the Library’s website (https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/az.php?s=4516) and evaluate their relevance to your topic.
You can also use Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.com) for comparison. Use the same keyword search in both databases.
Example#
Our example query is: permafrost melt
We have searched for those keywords in a database called GeoRef (https://libproxy.berkeley.edu/login?qurl=http://search.proquest.com/georef/advanced?accountid=14496).
Example |
|
---|---|
Database Name |
GeoRef |
Relevance of results |
Manageable results (539 articles), but all are relevant |
Types of publications (journal articles, conference papers, patents, books) |
Journals articles, conference abstracts |
Search functionalities (keyword, structure search, CAS number) |
limit to peer review |
Features (sorting, format, ability to export/save, citation information) |
sorting, export, no citation info |
Ease of getting the full text |
easy - UC elinks |
Your turn#
What is your topic?
Try searching your topic in two databases.
Get examples here: https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/az.php?s=4516
Edit the table below with your observations.
Questions#
What did you notice about the two databases?
Which features are most useful?
How do the library-subscribed databases differ from Google Scholar?