CU Library Find Databases Quick Guide

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Find Databases Quickguide

The Cornell University Library Find Databases collection offers access to hundreds of online reference resources including periodical indexes, directories, dictionaries, and encyclopedias. All of the resources in Find Databases may also be accessed through the CU Library Catalog. PLEASE NOTE:Find Databases contains only a portion of the Cornell University Library's resources. To access all materials available from Cornell University Library, including other reference resources, search the Library Catalog.

Searching Find Databases allows you to find online databases in your subject area but will not search within them. To search within a database, you will either need to connect to a database (by clicking its title, e.g., Proquest Research Library), or, go to Find Articles if it is featured there. Find Articles allows you to search multiple online indexes simultaneously, at the article level. See the following table for a comparison between Find Articles and Find Databases.

	Find Articles	Find Databases
What it is	Allows simultaneous searching of some of the databases available in Find Databases	Allows you to find relevant databases by keyword or subject and to access and connect to a database quickly by name
What it contains	More than 100 selected online indexes and reference sources	Hundreds of online indexes and reference sources
When to use it	To search more than one database at a time; to see which search terms or databases give more results; to do a very simple search for a few quick articles on a general topic	To do comprehensive research and advanced searching; to search databases and other resources not included in Find Articles , and to use additional features available in some databases such as selecting specific fields to include for exporting references to citation management software, and creating saved searches and email notifications
What a search returns	Citations (article publication information) and sometimes full text articles	Online indexes and databases from which to begin unlimited and advanced searching for citations, articles and/or dissertation information

For best results using Find Databases, use the most current version of your browser (However, Internet Explorer is not recommended for Mac). JavaScript must also be enabled in your browser.

If you know what database you want to search:

Search by Database Name - e.g., Education Abstracts, Historical Abstracts, Medline, Biosis.
Browse Find Databases by Alphabetical list

If you aren’t sure what database to search:

Search Find Databases by:

Keyword or Subject - use general concepts or subjects (e.g. medicine, not west nile virus). You can also search for a type of resource (catalogs, full text indexes, other (audio-visual, numeric data, spatial data)).

Browse Find Databases by:

Subject category – e.g., Arts and Humanities, Science and Technology, Social Sciences
General interest and reference- e.g., dictionaries, encyclopedias, biographies, library catalogs
Most Popular Databases - most heavily used resources

Not Finding What You Need?

Check our Research and Subject Guides or ask a librarian. Also, since Find Databases contains only a portion of the Cornell University Library's resources, remember to search the following:

CU Library Catalog: Use the Cornell University Library Catalog to search for printed materials such as books, journal titles and other serials, manuscripts, government documents, music scores, and maps. The CUL Catalog also contains records for archival materials, sound recordings and other audio-visual materials, microforms, and electronic resources, including non-networked items such as machine-readable data files and CD-ROMs. For more information about the Catalog click here.

Card Catalogs and Files: Individual libraries and divisions may also have catalogs or files that provide access to unique resources not found elsewhere. The card catalog in Olin Library contains some records for items in the humanities and social sciences, published on or before 1973, which do not appear in the CUL Catalog.

Find E-Journals: Click on the e-Journals link in the top menu bar on the Library Gateway. This e-Journal page contains electronic journals licensed by Cornell University Library. These titles may be searched or browsed using the search window and alphabetical index on the page.