GW Libraries provides you with access to hundreds of databases.
Keep in mind that no one database will search all publications. To be comprehensive, a search must be done in several databases. Ask a librarian for advice if you are unsure of databases which best fit your topic.
Two types of databases are useful when searching for scholarly research on your topic:
(1) General or Multidisciplinary Databases - these cover a wide range of subject matter in both popular and scholarly periodicals. They serve as a great place to begin research or for a general topic.
The following examples can be accessed on the library's A - Z Database List:
Academic Search Complete
Google Scholar
ProQuest Research Library
(2) Subject-specific Databases - These discipline-based databases only search journals in that field of study. Below are some examples, but a list of all available subjects can be found on the GW Libraries page, Databases by Subject Areas.
ABI/INFORM - a great starting place for business research; includes articles from magazines, trade publications and scholarly journals
ERIC - the premier database covering literature on education
PsycINFO - includes research in field of psychology, as well as information about the psychological aspects of related disciplines.
In addition to using your topic as a search term, you might consider adding one of the keywords below to focus your search results on a specific research methodology.
Select one or more of these to use in your database searching:
Action Research
Assessment
Case stud*
Ethnograph*
Focus Group
Interview
Phenomenolog*
Qualitative
Quantitative
TIP: Check the document type; Look for these terms:
research review
meta-analysis
literature review
information analysis
