A database is a collection of organized information. Examples of library databases are the library catalog and article databases. Article databases allow you to search thousands of journals, magazines, and newspapers at once. Some article databases provide you the full text of an article and others point you to an article by providing it's citation information. The articles you find in databases can be longer in length and scholarly (research articles and reports), or somewhat shorter (news or magazine articles).
You will likely be asked by your professors to find credible information when given research assignments in their classes. Some professors may also ask you to find scholarly or 'peer reviewed' information. Library databases will help you find the information required by professors. It is important to note that the majority of information you find in library databases cannot be found in Google for free. Scholarly journals are expensive. The SFCC Library subscribes to scholarly journals and article databases so that you can access this information for free.
Library databases also give you more power over your searches and allows you to be more strategic while searching. For example, many databases will allow you to narrow your search down to particular types of articles (for example: scholarly or news), date, subject etc. These options can refine your searches and retrieve more relevant results.
Not all databases are the same, some have full text, some only have citations, some include many subjects and material formats (e.g. newspaper articles), and some only contain scholarly articles. General databases like Academic Search Complete or ProQuest cover a variety of subject areas and include many types of content. Subject specific databases are usually limited to one subject such as psychology or education. You may need to search in more than one database depending on your topic.
It's always worthwhile to start using one of the general databases to get an overview of a topic. Once you have a general understanding, you can search one of the more specialized subject databases to get more in-depth information from the perspective disciple. It's recommended you start with the SFCC Database page (http://libguides.spokanefalls.edu/az.php) , which lists and describes each database SFCC subscribes to. Note that the two most helpful databases (unless otherwise directed by your instructor) are Academic Search Complete (a general database with newspapers, magazines, and a great selection of scholarly articles) and ProQuest (a general database with scholarly articles and a great selection of newspapers and magazines).
Databases and their content are not available on the free interent. If you are off-campus, you'll be required to login using your bigfoot username and password. If you have questions about your login information checkout this webpage, http://libguides.spokanefalls.edu/c.php?g=587268. If you have any login problems contact the library during business hours at 509-533-3834 or the IT Helpdesk at 509-533-4357.