What they are
Databases are services that the library or the state of Maine subscribe to that index journal articles. Some databases provide articles in their full text entirety, some give citation information including the title of article and journal, date and issue information, author's name, and an abstract or summary.

To Access
Follow the link databases by subject from the library home page. From off campus, see Off Campus Access / Proxy Configuration. Choose a subject category that matches your research needs. Don't forget the All Subjects / Multidisciplinary category. The to the left of the database name provides additional information regarding scope and subject matter.

How to use them:
Type a few key words describing the research topic and the database will provide a list of articles containing those words.

Tips for better results

• Don't change the default search setting to the right of the search bar. Often it will read keyword, or word, or select a field, or descriptors. The words you type into the search bar will be taken from the article's title, abstract, subject terms, and other fields.
• Many databases including Academic Search Premier, provide subject terms, sometimes called keywords or descriptors in the article record. Think of subject terms as main ideas. If you can find a subject term that describes your topic, click it to generate a list of all articles having that subject term as a main idea. If the subject term is too general, add a word after its clicked to make it more specific.
• As a rule, when two words are typed together, the database interprets the words as a phrase. To avoid making a phrase, put the word and between the words.
  canterbury tales and women and criticism
• Synonyms or like concepts may be searched by using parentheses and the word or.
  (criticism or interpretation or study) and Medea
• An asterisk represents any number of letters after the last letter typed.
  feminis*
  The words feminist and feminism are both being searched.

Peer Reviewed Journals
Also known as scholarly or academic journals, the articles tend to be longer and are written by experts in the field. One's professional peers will make revisions and decide ultimately if the article should be published. The journals have few if any advertisements, and the articles will often have an extensive list of references. Many databases, including Academic Search Premier, allow searches to be limited to scholarly journals.