Online Database

An Online Database (also called periodical indexes) include the citations to articles in magazines, journals and newspapers.

Most contain the full text or entire content of whole articles as they originally appeared in the periodical.

If the article is not full text, it will show an abstract (brief summary) of the article.

Use an Online Database

• to find articles on your topic from magazines, journals or newspapers
• to find articles from online encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference books
• to find online statistics

Examples of Databases

• Academic Search Complete (a general online database)
• Health Reference Center Academic (a specialized online database)
• Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature (a general print article index)
• CINAHL (a print index to articles related to medicine)

How to Access

Online databases are accessible at home from the DCCCD and the El Centro Library website! You will be asked for your name and your ID number.

Since most online databases only include articles from the last 15-20 years, the library also owns print periodical indexes, which are good for researching older materials. For example, the New York Times print index provides access to New York Times articles going back to 1851!