Academic Databases
- Mini search engines with authoritative and credible information
- Are accessible off campus with your VCCCD username and password
- Resources are free and you can download, print, and email them to yourself
- Contain searchable information about subjects or studies for reading, writing, and research
- Gain access to peer-reviewed articles, newspapers, magazines, reports, and reference materials
Search Strategy
Break Your Topic Down Into Concepts
Examples:
- If you're researching “rates of sexually transmitted infections across race,” your search should include three concepts: 1) Sexually Transmitted Infections; 2) race; and 3) rates
Articles may refer to the same concept using different terms-use different keywords when searching to retrieve the maximum number of articles.
Examples:
- Some articles may refer to STIs as “sexually transmitted infections” others may use the term "sexually transmitted diseases"
- To retrieve the maximum number of relevant articles, search for "sexually transmitted infections" OR "sexually transmitted diseases" when you begin searching
- If you're looking for articles on the “psychological impact of contracting an STI,” you might use the terms impact, effect, or consequence to retrieve relevant articles.
Library Databases by Subject
- Bloom's Literature This link opens in a new windowLiterary criticism and analysis, plot background and characters, and author information.
- CQ Researcher This link opens in a new windowIn-depth, unbiased coverage of health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology and the economy.
- Gale eBooks This link opens in a new windowOnline reference database with eBooks that covers multiple topics, including history, medicine, and law.
- Gale Academic OneFile This link opens in a new windowProvides articles from over 17,000 scholarly journals and other authoritative sources—including podcasts and transcripts from NPR and CNN as well as videos from BBC Worldwide Learning.
- EBSCO Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new windowMultidisciplinary database with journals, periodicals, reports, books and more.
- EBSCO Communication and Mass Media Complete This link opens in a new windowCommunication studies database with full-text journals covering all related disciplines, including media studies, linguistics, rhetoric and discourse.
- CQ Researcher This link opens in a new windowIn-depth, unbiased coverage of health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology and the economy.
- Gale In Context Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new windowCovers today's hottest social issues, from capital punishment to immigration to marijuana.
- Issues and Controversies This link opens in a new windowHelps researchers understand today’s crucial issues by exploring hundreds of hot topics in politics, government, business, society, education, and popular culture.
- Issues and Controversies in History This link opens in a new windowDelivers dynamic, concise, and balanced coverage that provides the background, outcome, and contemporary points of view for every major debate and conflict in American history. Recent controversies include Coronavirus and Paying College Athletes.
- ProQuest SIRS Issues Researcher This link opens in a new windowSIRS Issues Researcher is an editorially curated pro/con database designed for middle and high school students, university undergraduates, instructors, and librarians. Leading Issues pages provide a framework for understanding and analyzing over 360 complex social issues with overviews, essential questions, viewpoints, and editorially selected primary and secondary sources. All content is 100% full-text and selected from authoritative magazines, newspapers, photographs, books, statistics, infographics, websites, and more.
- ProQuest US Newsstream This link opens in a new windowAccess to the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Economist, The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, The Guardian, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe.
- Nexis Uni This link opens in a new windowIncludes news, publications, court cases, law reviews, company information, and country information for Political Science, Business and Criminal Justice majors.
- New York Times Online (NYTimes.com) This link opens in a new window
A New York Times digital edition subscription is available to all MC faculty, students, and staff. The New York Times website covers a variety of topics with unsurpassed quality and depth through breaking news articles, blogs, videos and interactive features. The New York Times is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. The New York Times covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews.
