Why Use Them?
Research projects often require you to look close up at a body of research produced by scholars in a particular field.
This research is typically collected, codified, and made 
findable in a tool called a subject database.
Every academic discipline has at least one subject database that's considered the disciplinary gold standard -- a reliable, (relatively) comprehensive, and accurate record of the books that scholars are publishing, and the ideas they're debating and discussing in important and influential journals.
Databases are like lenses: they change what you see and how you see it -- and they offer you easy and efficient ways to bring your questions into sharper focus.
Three To Try If You're Looking Wide
ACADEMIC SEARCH PREMIER (EBSCOHOST) Harvard Key
Why: The advantages of Academic Search Premier are 1) its multidisciplinary; 2) its inclusion of very recent content; 3) its mix of scholarly, news, and magazine content.
GOOGLE SCHOLAR
Why: GS searches differently from most library databases, including HOLLIS. In addition to searching "metadata" (lots of descriptive info about a book or article), it also searches full-text . This can be an additional advantage when you've got a very narrow topic or are seeking a "nugget" that traditional database searching can't surface easily.
Social Science Premium Collection (ProQuest) Harvard Key
Why: This database draws from across the social sciences: politics, sociology, psychology, and media studies are among its strengths. These disciplines also study and ask questions about rational behavior, human nature, and the role of the supernatural in human life and belief systems.
More Top Picks, If You Want to Go Deep
- APA PsycInfo HARVARD KEY
- Anthropology Plus HARVARD KEY
- ATLA Religion Index HARVARD KEY
- America: History and Life (North America) HARVARD KEY
- Historical Abstracts (World, excepting N. America) HARVARD KEY
