How to Research: A Tutorial
Databases: What They Are
Most databases are collections of periodicals that allow you to search for articles from many different publications all at once.
- Generally, the articles have appeared in print already and are now available to be searched electronically in a database.
- Electronic databases are NOT the same as the Internet. The library subscribes to databases and only RVCC students, faculty and staff have access to the content.
- The library subscribes to several databases because each database contains different periodicals.
- From off campus, you will be required to enter your G# and password to access the databases, on campus you will be taken directly to the database.
However, there are some unique databases for other types of information. For example, ArtStor is a collection of digitized images and Patron Books in Print is used to find book suggestions.
Periodicals are publications that come out at regular intervals. Newspapers, magazines, and journals are all periodicals.