- General: This searches a collection of several dozen databases covering a wide range subject areas (i.e. Academic Search Complete, Business Search Complete, etc.). This is a good place to start for general news, humanities, and social sciences topics.
- Web of Science: Web of Science indexes articles from science and some engineering journals. Web of Science is a good first search for science topics.
- Google Scholar: Google Scholar applies Google's search algorithm specifically to academic journals, academic conference proceedings and similar. Most but not all coverage indexed by Google Scholar is peer-reviewed. Although Google Scholar can be very comprehensive, it is very difficult to navigate: You cannot break down the results by date, the titles are truncated, etc. Google Scholar is a good tool for an initial survey and/or to verify a citation.
Note that these are NOT the only databases Cornell has: You can also select another, more appropriate database you want to search from the Database Names search. For targeted searches, it is best to search databases individually.
If you are unsure what databases to search, ask a librarian.
Please note that the databases available in the Database Names search represent only a fraction of the online resources available at Cornell. To access the majority of Cornell materials and the collections of many other libraries worldwide, search the Catalog. To access only materials available from Cornell University Library, including other reference resources, search the Classic Catalog.
System Messages or Errors: If you experience problems with databases using either system, please fill out a Problem Connecting form to notify library staff.