Library databases are online collections that search quality journal, magazine, newspaper and other academic sources
There are so many databases because there is so much information. There is no one database that covers all the resources available. Some databases will be directly focused on your subject, while others cover a wider range of subjects. Which databases you use depends on what you're looking for.
Most of our databases are searchable on our library discovery service, this means you can search several databases at once.
However, some databases will have to be searched separately.
Click on the Databases button on the library website to:
Selecting the most appropriate databases for your research is very important when trying to find what's been published on your topic.
We recommend the following databases for top engineering databases but remember there are many other databases available that may be useful for your research needs. For our full list visit our database a-z page.
Provide access to Knowledge Workspace, for Occupational Health Service Safety Information and The Irish Construction Information Service (CIS) Plus; a tool to access current regulations, technical advice and industry news on building, engineering, design and construction processes in the UK and Ireland.
Science Direct contains over 11 million articles on science, technology and computer science. Journal coverage includes over 2,500 authoritative titles. The Journal Backfiles consists of a historical archive of over four million articles going back from 1994 as far as 1823.
Journals and other resources across the arts, humanities, and sciences in disciplines such as music, art, history, literature, archaeology, mathematics, and biology. Materials span from the 1780s to the present, providing a rich focus on Ireland.
Scholarly journals spanning a range of areas of academic study including: biology, chemistry, engineering, law, mathematics, pharmaceutical sciences, physics, psychology, religion, zoology, and more.
Access from:
Donegal
Galway & Mayo
Sligo
Full-text access to NSAI, ISO and EN standards.
More standards are available from these databases: IEEE Xplore and IHS Markit.
The key to being a savvy searcher is to use common search techniques that you can apply to almost any database.
1. Define your topic and break it down into component concepts
2. Choose keywords, think of synonyms, abbreviations, alternative spelling
3. Combine keywords - using Boolean operators to structure the search
4. Use truncation to broaden your search
5. Use advanced techniques such as field searching and controlled vocabulary
6. Refine search results
7. Reflect on the results you find. Make sure they are relevant, look at subject terms
Don't limit yourself to one set of results or one database. Search a database that covers many subjects (e.g., Academic Search Complete or ScienceDirect) as well as a subject-specialized database. The same search phrase input in two separate databases can bring up very different results. If your topic incorporates more than one major subject area, try searching two databases that cover both your individual topics - Try the same search across multiple databases.
Watch this short animation to see what tips and features to use when searching library databases.
Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature.