Databases on the Web

One major limitation of all the web search engines and meta-search engines is they cannot search information that is available within thousands of specialized databases that are available on the Web. These databases include the databases we have already used in previous assignments, but there are vast numbers of freely available databases on the Web, including all types of periodical databases (databases that index anywhere from one to hundreds of different magazines, journals and newspapers by subject and may include abstracts or the complete text of articles), government databases (including a wide range of information from census data to legal codes to all types of public records), media databases, including radio and television reports and databases of all types of non-profit and commercial organizations. These databases have their own internal data and their own internal search engines.

Examples of databases freely available on the Web:

• Periodical databases, such as:
  • ERIC (http://ericir.syr.edu/Eric/) (abstracts of articles from education journals)
  • PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/) (abstracts of articles from medical journals)
  • Uncover (http://uncweb.carl.org/) (article citations & abstracts from journals in all subject areas)
• Government info, such as:
  • U.S. Census (http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/gazetteer)
  • California census data (http://govinfo.kerr.orst.edu/cgi-bin/state?ca)
  • California legal codes (http://leginfo.public.ca.gov/calaw.html)
  • Thomas (http://thomas.loc.gov) (Congressional Record & other legislative information from Congress)
• Newspapers, Magazines & Journals:
  • Internet Public Library - Serials (links to magazine sites--many include some full-text articles from their publications)
  • Internet Public Library - Newspapers (links to newspaper sites--many include full-text articles from their publications)
  • SFGate archives search engine (search & retrieve S.F. Chronicle + Examiner full-text articles back to 1995)
  • The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • The CIC Electronic Journals Collection
  • Scholarly Journals on the Web
  • Electronic Publishing of Scholarly Works
  • Electric Library
• Media databases, such as:
  • National Public Radio audio database (http://www.npr.org/)
  • Radio Scout (Search Public Radio Program Info)
  • Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco art database (http://www.thinker.org/imagebase/index-2.html)
  • Digital Images, Books + More
• Subject-specific databases, such as:
  • Species in Parks (http://ice.ucdavis.edu/nps/sbyname.html) (plants & animals in the U.S. National Park Service)
  • The Internet Classics Archives (http://classics.mit.edu/index.html) (classical literature)
  • U.S. Code (http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/) (federal laws)

To find specialized Web databases in many different subject areas, you can try using one of the subject directories listed in "Using General Web Search Tools". When you search for databases in a subject directory, try searching for a subject that is somewhat broader than your specific topic and also include the word "database" in the search.

There are also some sites that list Web databases in all subject areas. Lists of searchable databases on the Web are available at the following sites:

• Invisible Web (http://www.invisibleweb.com/)
• Alpha Search (http://www.calvin.edu/library/searreso/internet/as/)
• Direct Search (http://gwis2.circ.gwu.edu/~gprice/direct.htm)

  Use these sites to find databases or search engines on the general subject of your research. Once you find a database or search engine on your general subject area, you can use that subject-based search tool to search for more specific information related to your topic.

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These materials are copyrighted, but they may be used for educational purposes if you inform and credit the author and cite the source as: LSCI 105 Online Research. All commercial rights are reserved. Send comments or suggestions to: Eric Brenner at brenner@smcccd.cc.ca.us