An electronic database usually consists of a collection of journals, which can be searched for articles on particular topics. Journal articles are an important source of current, academic research, and will enhance your knowledge and understanding of a discipline.

Databases can vary enormously in size, the selection of journals indexed, coverage, and scope.

Databases may index journals in a specific subject area, e.g. Medline (medical sciences) & CINAHL (nursing sciences), or may be multidisciplinary, and provide access to a wide range of subject areas, e.g. Academic Search Premier & Expanded Academic ASAP, which covers health sciences, social sciences, arts, humanities, business education, etc.

Databases offer a selection of journals. Some journals will appear in multiple databases, and others may be exclusive to one.

Some databases offer full text, and the content of the article can be printed, downloaded or emailed to your workstation. Others offer partial full text. Some offer citations and abstracts only.

Most databases are American, and have very limited coverage of Australian and European journals.

Details of subject coverage can be found by clicking on 'More Information' under the database name