A to Z Databases: Home

This page contains an alphabetical listing of the library's databases. The databases give you access to articles (peer-reviewed, magazines and newspapers), ebooks, data, and more.

You may also search through the individual databases by name (choose the correct letter above) or browse by subject.

You may search through most of the library's databases at one time on the homepage using One Search. One Search also includes the library's book catalogs.

If you need help selecting the appropriate database(s) for your research, you can browse by subject area above or Ask A Librarian or chat live with a Librarian (see box to the right - hours are Sundays 6:00pm - 10:00pm).  You can also contact the library at 864-488-4612.

What do we mean by "database"?

A database is basically something you can use to search within a collection of some type of information. For academic research, we're primarily talking about tools to search for articles and books. Some databases cover articles and books in multiple academic disciplines. Some specialize in one. Often, these databases will include the full text of the article. If not, they will give you enough information (a citation) to find the full article or book somewhere else, and a link to other ways to obtain it (such as in another database or through interlibrary loan). There are many ways to search the databases.

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What is a scholarly journal?

Your instructor has asked you to find an article in a scholarly (or academic or refereed or peer-reviewed) journal. Scholarly journals differ from popular magazines and trade journals/magazines in a number of ways. (See "Comparison Chart" below.) A primary difference between scholarly journals and other types of journals and magazines is that articles in these journals undergo a "peer review" process before they are published. What does this mean?

• Peer review is the process by which an author's peers, recognized researchers in the field, read and evaluate a paper (article) submitted for publication and recommend whether the paper should be published, revised, or rejected.
• Peer review is a widely accepted indicator of quality scholarship in a discipline or field. Articles accepted for publication through a peer review process meet the discipline's expected standards of expertise.
• Peer-reviewed (or refereed) journals are scholarly journals that only publish articles that have passed through this review process.

The following characteristics can help you distinguish between these and two other types of periodicals: popular magazines and trade publications. If in doubt, ask your teacher or a librarian for assistance. 

Based on Scholarly vs. Popular Materials by Amy VanScoy, NCSU Librar
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