What’s the Best Database?

If you have ever looked at the list of electronic resources at Baylor, you can be easily overwhelmed as we currently have almost 700 listed.  Although you can narrow the list down by a subject in the pull-down menu, the list is still alphabetical and it can be hard to know which is the best database for your search.

Vendors trying to sell libraries databases

So here are some suggestions for a “goto” database for the STEM disciplines at Baylor

But don’t limit yourself just to these especially if your major is more multidisciplinary.  Biochemistry majors should look at both biology and chemistry databases; and Neuroscience at both biology and psychology databases.  Biology and geology can be of interest to environmental scientists.  There is often material that covers both physics and engineering, and math overlaps with physics and statistics.

Of course, both Scopus and Web of Knowledge cover STEM extremely well so look at these databases too.  They also offer cited reference search (more about that later).

And the good news is later this year we should be rolling out a new version of the Electronic Resources Database (ERD) that has the more relevant sources float to the top and the more general ones float to the bottom.

About Christina Chan-Park

Christina Chan-Park is currently the Science Librarian at Baylor University. She received her PhD in Geophysics from the University of British Columbia, MS in Information Science from the University of North Texas along with a Graduate Academic Certificate in Digital Curation and Data Management, MPA from the University of Houston, MS in Geophysics from Stanford University, and AB in Geology from Princeton University. She was previously a Visiting Assistant Professor and Program Director at the University of Houston a post-doctoral researcher at The Ohio State University. Like most librarians, she enjoys reading. But more than anything else she enjoys seeing other people succeed and helping them achieve their goals.
This entry was posted in All Scholars, All STEM, Aviation Science, Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Communication Science & Disorders, Computer Science, Databases, Discipline/Major, Engineering, Environmental Studies, Faculty, Geology, Graduate Students, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Physics, Post-Docs, Psychology, Statistics, Undergraduates. Bookmark the permalink.

3 Responses to What’s the Best Database?

  1. Pingback: Cited Reference Search | STEM Access blog

  2. Pingback: Indexes vs. Electronic Journal Collections: Why aren’t any articles from this journal showing up? | STEM Access blog

  3. Pingback: Where to Submit an Article | STEM Access blog

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