When you search for articles, you will usually start by searching one of the Library’s databases. Just as Google is a search tool for web pages, Library databases are your primary search tool for articles.
One non-scholarly database that most people are familiar with is IMDB (the Internet Movie Database). If you are watching a movie and want to know what other films an actor has been in, the IMDB app or website is probably the first place you will go. IMDB indexes the data points related to movies and television, helping users to search through the data by title, by actor name, by director and so on. Just as IMDB allows you to search through the entire movie and TV industry to find a specific actor or film, Library databases allow you to search through thousands of journals to find specific articles on your topic.
Let’s look at how to find an appropriate database for your research.