- Borrow & Request
- Collections
- Help
- Meet & Study Here
- Tech & Print
- About
You want to make your case with the best evidence. The library purchases access to indexing databases which help you to identify articles on specific topics. Most databases are not freely available to the public and are only licensed to OSU Libraries for the OSU community of users. They are independent of the holdings of any one library.
To begin using these databases and locating articles in "peer reviewed" journals and other reliable resources, start on the OSU Libraries home page: http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu,
“1Search” searches across many of our databases and e-journals. There are specific databases for every subject area as well. Most of these began as printed indexes (some with abstracts). These indexes were often published by societies as a service to their community of scholars. In other cases they were a commercial product purchased by libraries to make their journal collections more accessible.
A database search interface and "look" are determined by its vendor. We use several vendors (attempting to get the best value for your dollar) including:
Whether or not a database is “easy” to search is a function of both the database content provider and its vendor. This is another reason to consider 1Search first. Still it is useful to look for information about a database before you begin searching:
Remember to look for is the “360 Link to full-text.” This makes it easier to locate articles while you are connected to a database. It is also wise to create and export lists of references so you are maintaining a bibliography of references – there are several options for software to help you with this (EndNote, Zotero, Mendeley, etc.). Though they are somewhat straightforward there are also workshops offered on these by the library several times each term.
121 The Valley Library
Corvallis OR 97331–4501
Phone: 541-737-3331