Subject Databases

Subject Databases A Subject Database is a specialized digital collection designed to store, organize, and provide access to information focused on a specific academic discipline or field of study (e.g., Psychology, Engineering, History). Unlike general search engines like Google or multidisciplinary databases like Google Scholar, subject databases offer curated, high-quality resources tailored to the needs of researchers and students in that particular field. Think of them as a specialized library within a larger university library. The main library (a multidisciplinary database) has books on everything, but the medical library (a subject database) has deep, specialized collections just for medical professionals.

Key Characteristics of Subject Databases

Discipline-Specific Focus: Content is carefully selected to be relevant to one area, such as:
MEDLINE/PubMed for life sciences and biomedicine.

ERIC for education.

PsycINFO for psychology and neuroscience.
IEEE Xplore for engineering and computer science.

Historical Abstracts for history.

High-Quality, Vetted Content: The information is typically sourced from:

Scholarly, peer-reviewed journal articles

Conference proceedings and papers

Dissertations and theses

Patents (e.g., in engineering databases)
Reports from government agencies or institutes
Sophisticated Search Tools: They offer advanced search features tailored to the subject’s terminology.
Subject Headings & Thesauri: Controlled vocabularies (like MeSH in MEDLINE) allow you to search concepts precisely, overcoming issues with synonyms

and varying terminology.

Field-Specific Limiters: You can filter results by methodology (e.g., “clinical trial”), population (e.g., “age groups”), publication type (e.g., “meta-analysis”), and other discipline-relevant criteria.
Abstracts and Indexing: They primarily provide bibliographic information (citation, abstract, subject terms) rather than always hosting the full text of the article itself. They act as a highly detailed index, pointing you to the relevant literature. You often use a “Find Full Text” link to get the actual PDF from another source.
Less “Full-Text” Content: While many do link to full text, their primary strength is comprehensive indexing of the literature, including resources that might

not be available online.

Why and When to Use a Subject Database

You should use a subject database when you need to:
Conduct a Thorough Literature Review: Ensure you haven’t missed any seminal papers in your specific field.
Find Highly Relevant Results: Cut through the noise of a general search. Your results will be more precise and academically rigorous.
Use Advanced, Field-Specific Search Features: Leverage controlled vocabularies like MeSH or PsycINFO’s Thesaurus to find articles that use different

words for the same concept.

Research an Established Topic in Your Major: Once you know the key journals and terminology in your discipline, subject databases are your most powerful tool.

How to Find and Access Them

Through Your University Library: This is the most common and important method. Access to these databases is almost always paid for by your institution’s library.

Go to your library’s website.

You can often browse databases by subject (e.g., “Find Databases for Biology”) or search for them by name (e.g., “JSTOR”).
Public Libraries: Many public library systems provide free access to a selection of subject databases with a library card.
Free Subject-Specific Repositories: Some fields have famous free indexes, like PubMed (for MEDLINE) for biomedicine or arXiv for physics, mathematics, and computer science.

The Anatomy of a Subject Database Record

When you search a subject database, your results are a list of “records.” Each record is a rich collection of metadata describing a single item (like a journal article). Understanding these fields is key to powerful searching.

A typical record includes:

Citation Information: Author(s), Article Title, Journal Title, Volume, Issue, Page Numbers, Publication Date, DOI.

Abstract: A summary of the article’s content.

Subject Headings / Descriptors: The most important feature for effective searching. These are standardized terms from the database’s controlled vocabulary assigned by human indexers to describe the article’s core concepts.
Author Keywords: Keywords provided by the author(s). These are less consistent but can be useful.
Publication Type: Classifies the item as a Clinical Trial, Review, Case Report, Editorial, etc.
Instrumentation: (Common in PsycINFO) Names of tests or assessment tools used in the research.
Population: (Common in PsycINFO, MEDLINE) Details about the study’s participants (e.g., Human, Female, Aged, Adolescents).
Methodology: (Common in PsycINFO) Describes the research method (e.g., Empirical Study, Qualitative Study, Longitudinal Study).
Accession Number: A unique identifier for that record within the database.

Advanced Search Strategies: Leveraging Controlled Vocabulary

This is where subject databases truly shine. Instead of just guessing keywords, you can use the database’s own official terminology.
The Process:
Find the Thesaurus: Locate the link to the database’s official subject term list (often called “Thesaurus,” “Subject Headings,” or “MeSH” in MEDLINE).
Search for Your Concept: Type in a common word for your idea (e.g., “heart attack”).
Find the Official Term: The thesaurus will show you the preferred term (e.g., “Myocardial Infarction”) and often suggest narrower, broader, and related terms.
Explode the Term: Selecting “Explode” (a feature in many databases) means your search will include all the more specific terms under your chosen term

in the hierarchy, ensuring comprehensive results.

Apply Subheadings: You can often qualify your subject term with subheadings to focus the search (e.g., “Myocardial Infarction / drug therapy” or
“Myocardial Infarction / diagnosis”).
Example: A Search in PsycINFO
Initial Keyword: “PTSD”
Official Subject Term: “Posttraumatic Stress Disorder”

You can then narrow by:

Age Group: Adolescence (13-17 yrs)
Population Group: Military Veterans
Methodology: Treatment Outcome
Major Concept: You can select to only find articles where “Posttraumatic Stress Disorder” is a main focus of the article, not just a minor mention.

Challenges and Limitations of Subject Databases

While powerful, they are not without their drawbacks:

Steep Learning Curve: Each database has its own unique interface, thesaurus, and search rules. Proficiency requires time and practice.
No Full Text (Often): They are primarily indexing tools. You will frequently encounter results that are only a citation and abstract, requiring an extra step to

locate the full text via your library’s link resolver.

Content Gaps: No database is 100% comprehensive. Some relevant journals, especially from smaller publishers or in non-English languages, might not be indexed.
Disciplinary Silos: While great for depth, they can reinforce disciplinary boundaries, making it harder to find truly interdisciplinary research. A sociologist studying the psychology of education might need to search both PsycINFO and ERIC.
Access Barriers: They are expensive commodities. Access is typically restricted to students and faculty of subscribing institutions, limiting public availability.

The Ecosystem: How They Fit into Research

Subject databases don’t exist in a vacuum. They are part of a larger research ecosystem:
Database Providers/Vendors: Companies like EBSCO, ProQuest, Ovid, and Clarivate license content from publishers and provide the search interface you use. The same core database (e.g., MEDLINE) can look and function slightly differently on different platforms (e.g., Ovid MEDLINE vs. EBSCOhost MEDLINE).
Link Resolvers: This is the magic behind the “Find Full Text @ My Library” button. It’s a system that checks your library’s subscriptions and connects you to the full article, whether it’s in another database, a journal platform, or an institutional repository.
Citation Managers: Tools like Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote integrate directly with subject databases, allowing you to export citations and PDFs with a single click to organize your research.