Waterbury Campus Library

No doubt, as you start your journey through college research, you are going to hear some strange terms. Some you've never heard before. Some you've heard before, but they are now being used in a completely different way.  

• Database - You use databases ALL THE TIME! Amazon, Google, Spotify, etc. Those are all databases. A database is "an organized collection of structured information, or data, typically stored electronically in a computer system." When your professors refer to databases in relation to an assignment, this is more or less what they mean. A database in this context is an online, searchable collection of information that might include books, articles, images, videos, data, etc. A list of all of our databases can be found here. By default, they are listed alphabetically. However, you can filter the list by subject or content type. 

This short tutorial will give you a better idea of what your professor means by "database."

• Journal - No! In the context of college research, a "journal" is not like a diary, where ideas and thoughts are written for private consumption. Quite the opposite! When your professor uses the term journal, they mean a publication in which scholarship relating to an academic discipline is published. Journals are different than magazines, as the content is written by experts and intended for an academic audience. More about this below...
• Peer-Reviewed - "Peer-reviewed" in this context is like that activity you might have done in English class, where you read and provide feedback on a classmate's essay. The way your professor is using the term is a bit more complicated. For now, let's keep it simple. Peer review refers to journal articles written by scholars/experts in an academic discipline, reviewed by scholars/experts in the discipline (hence the "peer review"), and published for scholars (YES! THAT INCLUDES STUDENTS!). Sometimes your professor might uses terms like "scholarly article" or "academic paper" instead of peer-review. Know that Vogue, People, Psychology Today, Sports Illustrated, etc. are NOT peer-reviewed (or scholarly, or academic). When in doubt, ask for clarification! 
• Abstract - Academic (aka "Peer Reviewed") articles can be long -- sometimes as long as 30-40 pages! Scholars have A LOT to say. Before you jump right into an article, read the abstract. An abstract is a short (usually 5-6 sentence) overview of an article, introducing the research, giving it some context, and highlighting major findings/results. Abstracts are at the top of an article, beneath the title and authors,. It's usually labeled. There are few things worse than reading an article with a promising title only to find after several pages that it's completely irrelevant. Reading the abstract first will prevent this from happening!