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Databases provide access to articles from credible, well-known newspapers, magazines and journals. The library pays a subscription fee for several general and subject-specific databases for students and faculty to use.
Some databases contain scholarly content, like academic journals on a specific subject, and others contain articles from popular magazines such as Newsweek or Forbes. Databases may contain a mixture of content from both scholarly and popular sources.
You will need to use your KCTCS ID and password (same one you use for Blackboard) to access databases from home.
Wikipedia can be a good place to start your research when you know nothing about a topic. Occasionally, you can even find good sources among the References and External Links listed on Wikipedia pages -- where the Wikipedia authors found out their information.
However, it is rarely acceptable to use Wikipedia as a source in an academic paper. Ask your instructor if you are unsure.
These databases contain articles that may be useful when wanting to learn more about government and politics or writing a paper.
Why use this database?
Academic OneFile is a general database with peer-reviewed, full-text articles on a variety of subjects.
What you need to know:
This database is useful for anyone looking for a good starting point for general research in almost any subject area.
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Academic Search Complete covers a broad variety of subjects. It provides access to journals, magazines, reports, books, and videos.
What you need to know:
This is a multidisciplinary database, so searches can be conducted on a wide range of topics.
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Britannica Academic provides encyclopedia articles, dictionary and thesaurus entries, an atlas, biographies, and magazine articles.
What you need to know:
This database is useful for finding background and reference information on any topic.
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The Courier Journal is a Louisville newspaper that can be searched for local and regional news stories from 1999 to present.
What you need to know:
Use this database for information on local and national news.
Why use this database?
CQ Researcher examines contemporary issues by providing overviews, opposing viewpoints, statistics, Pro/Con arguments, and bibliographies on topics such as religion, war, human rights, law, and global warming.
What you need to know:
This database is useful for starting research on current events topics, especially for speeches and/or argumentative papers.
Why use this database?
Credo Reference allows access to hundreds of reference books, including encyclopedias, dictionaries, subject-specific texts, and many more. The Mind Map feature helps draw connections between different aspects of a topic.
What you need to know:
This database is useful for locating background and general information in almost all subject areas to help you better understand your topic.
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EBSCOhost is the Learning Commons entire collection of EBSCOhost databases in one place.
What you need to know:
This would be useful for those who want to use EBSCOhost databases but may be unsure of which one(s) to use.
Why use this database?
Gale is the Learning Commons entire collection of Gale databases in one place.
What you need to know:
This would be useful for those who want to use Gale databases but may be unsure of which one(s) to use. The cross-search function allows you to search across several of the Gale products at once.
Why use this database?
Gale in Context: Biography provides more than 600,000 biographical entries covering international figures from all time periods and areas of study. Content includes reference sources, videos, audio, images, primary sources, and magazine and journal articles.
What you need to know:
This database is useful for researching people in all subjects. You can search for a specific person, browse people by groups like “artists” or “writers", or use search filters like occupation, place of birth or death, gender, or nationality to find what you are looking for.
Why use this database?
A database that indexes journals (articles), books (available by chapters), primary sources, and images. In addition to the many journals that the Learning Commons subscribes to, you can also use JSTOR and Artstor's open access content. At the bottom of the page, you will find a link titled “What’s in JSTOR.” One of the first links within the body of that page it to "Open and free content" which includes resources from both JSTOR and Artstor.
What you need to know:
Use JSTOR to get great results for all areas of research for any class assignment. Artstor indexes images from numerous museums and libraries, including the Art Institute of Chicago. It is a great resource for art, art history, and CAT research. Check out JSTOR Daily to see how it matches scholarly information to current topics.
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Newspaper Source provides full-text articles from regional, national, and international newspapers.
What you need to know:
This database is useful for locating newspaper articles, as well as transcripts of radio and television news programs.
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The New York Times (NYT) includes newspaper articles covering regional, national, and international news from 1980 to present.
What you need to know:
The NYT is useful for finding newspaper articles on current events and information on historical events.
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Opposing Viewpoints can be used to search articles, videos, charts, images, and infographics. It includes topical overviews, news, and opinions on hundreds of important social issues.
What you need to know:
Use this database to discover and choose research paper topics, and find in-depth articles for research assignments for any class.
Why use this database?
War and Terrorism (Gale) contains more than 1.7 million articles on conflicts and their causes, impacts, and perceptions on a global scale.
What you need to know:
This database is useful for research in the topics of military science, history, and social science.
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The Washington Post is a daily newspaper based out of Washington D.C. You can find articles on a wide variety of subjects like politics, technology, and so much more.
What you need to know:
This database would be best for finding information related to current events. You will see ads within this database, but you do not need to pay to read any articles.
Why use this database?
Through Gale’s World History database, you can access journal and magazine coverage of events throughout world history.
What you need to know:
This database is useful for world civilization classes and European history classes.
Sometime when researching, you may want to look beyond the journals, books, and databases available at Jefferson. Luckily, there are thousands of Open Access items online.
You can use Google Scholar to search materials on the web and across the globe.
You can search the catalogs of libraries around the world through WorldCat and find the library nearest you with any given resource.
