A database search term is a specific word or phrase entered into a computer interface to retrieve relevant records from an academic database. Because databases contain millions of records, users often need to experiment with different combinations and specificities of search terms to narrow down their results to highly relevant articles.

Database Search Term

A database index term is a standardized phrase assigned to an academic database record to categorize the content of a publication. Because these terms are standardized—such as indexing all research on male-female differences under “Human Sex Differences”—they are especially helpful for locating relevant literature consistently, regardless of the specific keywords the original authors used.

Database Index Term

Once a relevant record is located in an academic database, the next step is to obtain the complete article or book chapter. While some database interfaces provide direct links to full-text copies or allow users to save and print records, other works must be accessed through a university library's physical shelves or journal subscriptions. When researchers need help finding a specific hard copy or accessing a journal, they should consult a librarian.

Accessing Full-Text Research Literature

In an academic database record, keywords are descriptive terms used to summarize the specific content of a scholarly work, such as an article or book chapter. Unlike standardized index terms, these keywords are often author-supplied or highly specific, meaning researchers may need to experiment with different word combinations and levels of specificity to successfully locate relevant literature.

Academic Database Keyword

Within an academic database, what information is typically contained in an individual publication's record?

Within an academic database, each publication—such as a journal article or scholarly book—is represented by an individual record. These records typically contain essential publication details, a summary or abstract of the content, lists of descriptive keywords and standardized index terms, and a bibliography of other works cited by the publication.

Google

Electronic databases are the principal tools used to search the scientific literature. These computer systems provide a searchable interface for massive collections of academic works—including professional journals and scholarly books—allowing researchers to locate relevant publications across various disciplines by entering specific search terms.

Academic Database

https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/psychmethods4e/

KPU Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition

Academic Database Record

PsycARTICLES is a specialized electronic database that provides full-text access to articles published in the professional journals of the American Psychological Association (APA). It serves as a direct source for obtaining complete copies of these works, which may be linked directly from records in broader index databases like PsycINFO.

PsycARTICLES

Different academic disciplines often rely on specific electronic databases for literature searches. For example, Academic Search Premier, JSTOR, and ProQuest cover all academic fields, whereas ERIC is specifically designed for education research, and PubMed focuses on medicine and related disciplines.

Examples of Academic Databases

A citation search is a method of navigating the research literature by locating the database record for a classic, foundational article on a topic, and then linking to a list of newer works that have cited it. This technique is effective because subsequent researchers investigating the same topic are highly likely to reference the original classic article in their own publications.

Citation Search

PsycINFO is a comprehensive electronic database created by the American Psychological Association (APA). Because it indexes thousands of professional journals and scholarly books dating back over a century, its scope is essentially equivalent to the entire body of research literature in psychology, making it the most critical database for psychological research.

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