Some article databases provide general coverage of many subject areas. Others concentrate on a single discipline or sub-field. For example,

Infotrac OneFile has broad subject coverage, but little depth on any given topic. They can be good starting points if you're just looking for a few articles.

Specialized databases such as America: History and Life and PsychArticles provide in-depth, scholarly coverage of a single discipline.

To find a good specialized database, go to the Subject Guides. For each broad subject (e.g. Art, Biology, Communication Studies, etc.) the key databases for that discipline will be listed and hot linked.

Be sure to try more than one of the Key Databases, since different databases index different journals and may have subtly different strengths. A description is provided for each database.

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The (Full Text) note next to a database link means that the database has at least some complete articles available, unlike other sources which may only have citations (i.e., information on where the articles were published) and possibly abstracts (summaries of articles).

Perhaps - if your paper is due tomorrow! However, many databases without this note will link to online articles. And \for many topics, the best information will be found in a mix of online and print.

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The Library also has online resources that offer access to

• images such as the Accunet/AP Multimedia archive
• music such as the Naxos Music Library
• visual art such as ArtSTOR
• statistics such as StatUSA
• as well as an online reference collection

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You can always "ask a librarian" for recommended databases.

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Phone: (843)953.5530 | Fax: (843)953.8019

College of Charleston Libraries | 205 Calhoun Street

Mailing Address: 66 George Street, Charleston, South Carolina, 29424