What is a Database?
A database is a search-able and organized collection of data or other resources. Google is an example of a large, freely available database of URLs. Amazon.com is an example of a database of items available for purchase through Amazon.
The library creates, curates, and/or subscribes to hundreds of databases. Some of these are for books, some are for articles, some for images, some for web resources, and some are for a combination of any or all of these. When you conduct research, you are almost certain to use a database of some sort. This page is a collection of some of the best databases for Economics and Environmental Policy.
Library Catalog
The Cornell University Library Catalog is a database of materials held at the many libraries at Cornell University. The catalog is especially useful for finding items at the library like books, maps, videos and journals (note: you can find journals here but NOT specific journal articles).
To access the catalog, visit www.library.cornell.edu and click on the "Catalog" link found in the primary search box.
You can search by keywords, title, author or call number using the drop-down menu to the right of the search box.
The results page will list Cornell holdings and will be sorted by relevance by default. You can sort by year, author and title using the drop-down menu in the upper right-hand corner of the search results.
You can search the holdings of libraries worldwide by choosing "Library Worldwide" under the Expand your search menu on the left side. Consider Interlibrary Loan or Borrow Direct for access to non-Cornell holdings.
- To do a basic book search, go to the catalog and enter your search terms in the main search box. First do a very general keyword search for your subject.
- Using the choices in the lefthand column, narow your search to books (under Format).
- When you find anything useful look at the record and find the subject terms. By clicking on these terms you can find all holding about that particular subject.
- You can also use the links on the side to find books in certain date ranges or languages.
Books or Articles?
A very popular type of information that cannot be found in the catalog is an article. Since they cannot be found in the catalog, you may need to determine whether you want books, articles, or a combination of the two. Here are a couple things to consider when you're deciding between books and articles:
How recent is the topic of study? - In general, books take more time to compile and publish. As a result, for very recent topics, articles tend to be a better option. On the flip side, for historical research, particularly in a field that doesn't change much, books tend to be the better option.
How detailed do you need the information to be? - This may seem counterintuitive due to their relative size, but books tend to be more general and offer more breadth on their topic of coverage. Articles on the other hand, especially peer-reviewed research articles, can be extremely specific. To make a comparison, a book is more likely to be entitled "Environmental Policy" and offer a general overview of that topic. An article on the other hand may be entitled "Environmental Policy with Collective Waste Disposal". The article in this case is clearly focused on a much more specific topic.
There are only a few places to visit if you are looking for books and the catalog is definitely the best for finding books at Cornell University. Articles on the other hand may be available in hundreds of different databases usually organized by subject. If you are interested in looking for articles related to Economics and Environmental Policy, have a look at the resources to the right.
Recommended Databases
There are dozens of resources that you can use to conduct research for your assignment. These are some of the key resources to consider regardless of the topic you choose.
- CAB AbstractsCAB Abstracts covers the significant research and development literature in the fields of agriculture, applied economics, nutrition, food science and much more.
- AGRICOLAProduced by the National Agricultural Library, Agricola (AGRICultural OnLine Access) contains bibliographic records of materials acquired by the National Agricultural Library and cooperating institutions in agricultural and related sciences.
- JSTORJSTOR is a fully-searchable database containing the back issues of several hundred scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences, mathematics, music, ecology and botany, business, and other fields. It includes the following collections: Arts & sciences I, II and III, General science, Ecology and botany, Business, Language and literature.
- EconLit with Full TextAbstracts, indexing, and full-text articles in all fields of economics, including capital markets, country studies, econometrics, economic forecasting, environmental economics, government regulations, labor economics, monetary theory, and urban economics.
Other Databases to consider
These are resources that may be worthwhile to explore depending on your topic of research. Please keep in mind that there are many more that you can refer to depending on your topic. Visit the following link for more complete lists of databases by subject.
- Web of ScienceChoosing "All Databases" allows you to search an index of journal articles, conference proceedings, data sets, and other resources in the sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities.
- ProQuest Research LibraryProQuest Research Library, formerly known as Periodical Abstracts, is a comprehensive database available through the ProQuest online system. It indexes and abstracts general interest magazines and scholarly journals in the social sciences, humanities and sciences. It comprises two components: a core list of periodicals covering about 800 publications, and 15 subject-specific modules that supplement the core list. Modules cover arts, business, children, education, general interest, health, humanities, international studies, law, military, multicultural studies, psychology, sciences, social sciences, and women's interests. Full text of many articles is provided.
- Academic Search PremierThis multi-disciplinary database provides full text for more than 8,500 journals, including full text for more than 4,600 peer-reviewed titles. PDF backfiles to 1975 or further are available for well over one hundred journals, and searchable cited references are provided for more than 1,000 titles.
- ABI/InformABI/Inform, an extensive international business and management database, contains bibliographic citations, abstracts, and full text of articles appearing in professional publications, academic journals, and trade magazines published worldwide. ABI/Inform covers the areas of accounting, banking, computers, economics, engineering management, communications, finance, health care, human resources, insurance, international trends, law, management, marketing, public administration, real estate, taxation, transportation.
- Business Source CompleteBusiness Source Complete provides full text for scholarly business journals and other sources, including full text for more than 1,800 peer-reviewed business publications. Coverage includes virtually all subject areas related to business. This database provides full text (PDF) for top scholarly journals, including the Harvard Business Review. It also includes industry and country reports from Euromonitor and company and industry reports from Datamonitor.
- CQ ResearcherCovers the most current and controversial issues of the day with summaries, pros and cons, bibliographies and more.
- Nexis UniProvides access to full text resources on topics including current and general news; business and financial information; newspapers; company directories; government and politics; medical and health topics; accounting, auditing, and tax; federal and state laws; legal cases; and regulations. Resources include TV and radio news transcripts.
- Applied Social Sciences Index and AbstractsASSIA: Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts on the Web is an indexing and abstracting tool covering health, social services, psychology, sociology, economics, politics, race relations and education. Updated monthly, ASSIA provides a comprehensive source of social science and health information for the practical and academic professional.