Understanding the Kinds of Resources Available
UNT Electronic Databases are extraordinarily diverse. The following list is representative, but not complete:
- Full Text: Some contain the "full text," including actual journal or newspaper articles or other content.
- Partial Full Text: Contents may be full text or abstracts.
- No Full Text But Still Useful: Many electronic databases were developed as tools to help you find information in other locations such as books, journals, or even web pages.
- General Resources: Some electronic databases cover a broad range of content areas and are considered "general resources."
- Specialized: Others focus on one content or subject area
- Links to Articles: More and more of our non-full text databases are now providing a hyperlink to the full text article. See the "Find Full Text" link in the database for details.
How to Find Electronic Databases
You essentially have two options.
- Find it Yourself: Find information yourself using one of our search/browse systems.
- Use a Guide or Ask for Help: Consult a "Research Guide" specifically tailored to a subject or class, or talk to a librarian via email, phone, or in person.
Find it Yourself: Using the Online Articles Search.
- Click on the "Find" Tab Above, or go back to the libraries home page.
- You will see a tabbed search box. The "Online Articles" Search can search through millions of electronically available full-text, scholarly articles. Enter your search terms.
- If you want to expand your criteria beyond articles to include other material types, you can do so from the advanced search.
- On the results screen, use the left-column facet selectors to further refine your search.
Find it Yourself: Using the Databases & e-Journals section of the Catalog.
As of Spring 2013, all databases and e-Journals are located by searching/browsing within the library catalog.
- From the library homepage or on the find tab on any page, choose the "Databases & e-Journal" Tab, browse by letter, search by database name, of select a subject.
- Click "Find Databases & e-Journals" to go directly to the catalog search screens
From the catalog, itself, you can click:
- Databases & e-Journals from anywhere in the catalog on the "New Search" Dropdown menu at the top of the page.
- From the menu items in the right-hand column on the catalog homepage.
Please note the key features of the main search/browse screen:
- Databases Tab. Browse by Title, Search by Title, Browse by Subject, or choose from a list of most Used Databases
- e-Journals Tab. Browse by Title, Search by Title or ISSN, Browse by Subject
- Find Online Articles (Right Column): Searches for full-text articles in UNT subscriptions from one single search. Great for getting started in a field.
- Find e-Books (Right Column): Search for books available electronically.
On the Results Page. Note the following:
- Linked Title: Provides direct access to the Database. See "Access" (Above) for help with authentication.
- Information About the Resource: Each record provides information about the Resource. Typically this includes the title, resource type, subjects covered, a description of the contents, coverage dates, help links/tutorials, and a contact person/service for additional help.
- Other Technical Requirements (rare): A small number of items require special software to access. Links will be provided where applicable.
- About this Database Link: Provides more information about the database, typically including the contributor, resource types, and other special information. You can also get a permanant link on this page for sharing or future use.
Find it Yourself: Using the Catalog or UNT Digital Library.
These are two other options for finding electronically available items.
- Library Catalog: You can use the "Material" select menu on the advanced search to limit your search to specific types of items such as e-Books, e-Journals, or use the "Collection" and "Location" Select Menus to find narrow the kinds of resource to general, web, music, or media items.
- UNT Digital Library: UNT digitizes a large number of specialized collections including government documents, UNT Theses, Dissertations, and other University Scholarly Works. More information can be found here.
Use A Guide or Ask For Help.
A number of UNT Librarians contribute to subject or class-specific "Research Guides" which collect information, links, and other important information. Electronic Databases typically form an important part of these guides.
- UNT Library Research Guides
- Browse Alphabetical List of Guides
- Browse Guides By Subject
- Browse Guides By Librarian