SI: What is a database?

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What is a database?  

According to dictionary.com, a database is "a comprehensive collection of related data organized for convenient access, generally in a computer."  

As easy way to remember the definition is if you break apart the word.  Another way of saying data is information, and when you think of a base, a centralized location comes to mind.  

Students use databases all the time!  Anytime you go on Instagram or shop on Amazon you are using a database. But in the context of research, a library database is a collection of articles, and sometimes eBooks too.  

The CSI Library has over 200 databases.  While some are credible websites available for free, most are subscription databases we pay for, which is why you need to log on using your SLAS username and password when you are off campus in order to access them.

We have multidisciplinary databases that search for articles across many fields, from music to mathematics, as well as those that are discipline specific.  For help finding databases, use this quick tutorial.  

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