The Research Process: Tools and Tips for Success

If you needed to buy a gallon of milk and some eggs, you would mentally (maybe even subconsciously) choose the best store for the job and then go there. Based on your experience, you know that grocery stores and markets are better choices for milk and eggs than a boutique or automotive parts store would be.

When it comes to looking for information from a database, you still need to choose the best ones to "go to" in order to find the information you want, but which choices to make may not be as obvious.

This page will provide some pointers to help you match your information needs with the right databases. If you still have questions, don't forget that your NU Librarians are here to help! You can pop into the Library with questions or use chat, email, or our online appointment scheduler to get some one-on-one research help . 

If you are still learning the basics of your topic (thesis, argument, counter-argument) or need more general information then you want to search Library resources like Credo Reference or the New York Times. Find more about those on the " Find Background Info " page of this guide.

This type of information can also be found openly on the web (news sites, Wikipedia, etc.) and could also benefit from searching different search engines (Google Scholar). 

For more in-depth research, you may want to search an assortment of different databases. Below you'll find some recommended databases based on general subjects.

Athletic Training:

Academic Search Ultimate, CINAHL Plus, JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Assoc.), MEDLINE, OVID, Proquest Nursing & Allied Health, PubMed Central, SAGE Premier, SciVerse from Science Direct, SPORTDiscus, Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal, UptoDate

Biology:

Academic Search Ultimate, Infobase Films on Demand, JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Assoc.), JSTOR Arts & Sciences, LexisNexisUni, Medline, PubMed, SAGE Premier, SciVerse from Science Direct

Business:

Academic Search Ultimate, Business Source Premier, Communication & Mass Media Complete, eStatement Studies, GPO Access, GreenFILE, Infobase Films on Demand, Journal of Digital & Social Media Marketing, LexisNexisUni, Mergent (all), NY Times, Regional Business News, SAGE Premier, SBR Net, SPORTDiscus, Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal, UN Comtrade, USA Trade Online, Wall Street Journal 

Chemistry:

Academic Search Ultimate, Infobase Films on Demand, JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Assoc.), JSTOR Arts & Sciences, LexisNexisUni, Medline, PubMed, SAGE Premier, SciVerse from Science Direct

Communications:

Academic Search Ultimate, Business Source Premier, Chronicle for Higher Education, Communication & Mass Media Complete, Delaware County Times, GreenFILE, Humanities International Complete, Infobase Films on Demand, Journal of Digital & Social Media Marketing, LexisNexisUni, NY Times, SAGE Premier

Clinical Mental Health:

Academic Search Ultimate, Chronicle for Higher Education, CINAHL Plus, Faith & Philosophy, Infobase Films on Demand, JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Assoc.), LexisNexisUni, MEDLINE, NY Times, OVID, Proquest Dissertations & Theses, Proquest Nursing & Allied Health, Proquest Religion, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, Psychotherapy.net, PubMed Central, SAGE Premier, SciVerse from Science Direct, SocINDEX, UptoDate

Criminal Justice:

Academic Search Ultimate, Congressional Research Service Reports, CQ Press, CQ Researcher, Criminal Justice Abstracts, GreenFILE, Humanities International Complete, Infobase Films on Demand, JSTOR Arts & Sciences, LexisNexisUni, NY Times, Proquest Criminal Justice Periodicals, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, SAGE Premier, SciVerse from Science Direct, SocINDEX

Education:

Academic Search Ultimate, Chronicle for Higher Education, Education Source, ERIC, Infobase Films on Demand, Journal of Catholic Higher Education, JSTOR Arts & Sciences, LexisNexisUni, Library & Information Science Source, Proquest Dissertations & Theses, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, Research Starters- Education, SAGE Premier, SocINDEX, 

Health Sciences: 

Academic Search Ultimate, CINAHL Plus, JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Assoc.), LexisNexisUni, MEDLINE, NY Times, OVID, Proquest Nursing & Allied Health, PubMed Central, SAGE Premier, SciVerse from Science Direct, UptoDate

Humanities:

Academic Search Ultimate, Faith & Philosophy, Humanities International Complete, Infobase Films on Demand, JSTOR Arts & Sciences, Literature Criticism Online, NY Times, Philosopher's Index, Proquest Religion, SAGE Premier, SciVerse from Science Direct

Literary Criticism:

Academic Search Ultimate, JSTOR Arts & Sciences, Literature Criticism Online

Nursing/ PT:

Academic Search Ultimate, CINAHL Plus, JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Assoc.), MEDLINE, OVID, Proquest Nursing & Allied Health, PubMed Central, SAGE Premier, SciVerse from Science Direct, SPORTDiscus, UptoDate

Political Science: 

Academic Search Ultimate, Chronicle for Higher Education, Congressional Research Service Reports, CQ Press, CQ Researcher, Criminal Justice Abstracts, Delaware County Times, GPO Access, GreenFILE, Infobase Films on Demand, JSTOR Arts & Sciences, LexisNexisUni, NY Times, SAGE Premier, SciVerse from Science Direct, UN Comtrade

Psychology:

Academic Search Ultimate, CINAHL Plus, Infobase Films on Demand, JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Assoc.), JSTOR Arts & Sciences, MEDLINE, OVID, Proquest Nursing & Allied Health, PubMed Central, PsycARTICLES, Psychotherapy.net, PsycINFO, SAGE Premier, SciVerse from Science Direct, UptoDate

Religion:

Academic Search Ultimate, Faith & Philosophy, Humanities International Complete, Infobase Films on Demand, Journal of Catholic Higher Education, NY Times, Philosopher's Index, Proquest Religion, SAGE Premier, SciVerse from Science Direct

Social Justice:

Academic Search Ultimate, Business Source Premier, Communication & Mass Media Complete, Congressional Research Service Reports, CQ Press, CQ Researcher, Criminal Justice Abstracts, GreenFILE, Humanities International Complete, Infobase Films on Demand, JSTOR Arts & Sciences, LexisNexisUni, NY Times, Proquest Criminal Justice Periodicals, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, SAGE Premier, SciVerse from Science Direct, SocINDEX

Sports Business:

Academic Search Ultimate, Business Source Premier, SBR net, SPORTDiscus, Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal