You may be wondering: Where, and HOW, do I find all these scholarly articles?
It would be nearly impossible to skim through thousands of journals to locate articles for your research assignments. Fortunately, there are Research Database companies that make it fairly easy to locate appropriate sources. Some research database collections are multi-disciplinary and can be used to find information about any subject or topic. Others focus on a specific subject area (such as psychology), and still others offer collections of a particular format such as image files of artwork or streaming videos. Because database companies are constantly uploading content to their site, they offer access to the most current information being published.
Research Databases: a company that pays for the right to digitize, index, and make searchable previously published content. This content is in the form of journal articles, newspaper articles, books, ebooks, government documents, conference proceedings, encyclopedia entries--content that can't be found on the open web because its copyright protected. These companies then provide access to their unique, search interface to schools, libraries, companies, and research institutions for an annual subscription fee.
Current: when conducting your research, it is important to be aware of when the article was published. An older article may have inaccurate, questionable, or out-of-date information. Especially in rapidly developing fields, such as technology and medicine, you want to be sure that the articles you cite contain information that is accurate, up to date, and reflect the newest discoveries.
Conducting research (locating credible information) is just like shopping! Instead of shopping for items to buy, however, you're "shopping" for information. With this in mind, you can think about using research databases the same way you use Amazon to find specific things.
How?? Consider this: both Amazon and research databases share these tools:
Therefore, if you have ever used Amazon (is there anyone who hasn't?!) you can easily use a research database!
As an MCC student when asked to login to access any of the material, simply login in using your MCC credentials.
Searching for good sources can feel like looking for a needle within a giant haystack. But by using the MCC Libraries' research databases, and your developing research skills, you will be able to successfully find the sources that you need!
As a student at MCC, you have access to a myriad of research databases that MCC Libraries subscribes to. When asked to login to access any of the material, simply login in using your MCC credentials.
You can search within all of the databases at once or search within a specific database. To search within the entire MCC Libraries' resources, including the research databases, you can start here:
To access a list of the individual research databases available through MCC, go here:
Accessibility is important to us. While we have made efforts to make our guides as accessible as possible, it is possible that issues could be present. If you are having difficulty accessing content in these guides or if you have any questions about the accessibility of online information posted by the MCC Libraries, please contact us.