Gavilan Library has purchased access to more than a dozen specialized databases to assist students in doing research. These databases are all available from computers on campus. You can also access the databases from off campus with a Gavilan library card.

You can find a list of all the databases on the Library Home Page (http://www.gavilan.edu/library). Click on the Electronic Databases link on the left side of the page.

You can also find the most used databases using the icons on the right side of the Library Home Page.

ProQuest is actually a group of 4 databases including

• ProQuest Research Library -- provides access to 1750 + full-text journals across a wide range of subject areas, including business, education, literature, political science, and psychology.
  
• ProQuest Newspapers -- Includes articles from 500+ newspapers including the San Francisco Chronicle and 5 national newspapers: the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, and Washington Post.
  
• ProQuest Nursing Journals -- this database is designed to meet the needs of researchers at health-care facilities as well as students enrolled in nursing programs at academic institutions. All the source publications are available in the ASCII full-text format. Nearly all of them also offer articles in the full-image and Text+Graphics formats.
  
• CINAHL -- Database of Nursing and Allied Health Literature: the definitive database for nursing and allied health research. Find information on Audiology, Nutrition & Dietetics, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Respiratory Therapy, Speech-Language Pathology, and Consumer Health.

To use ProQuest, click on the ProQuest icon from the Library Home Page.

If you are accessing the database from off campus you will be prompted for a password. The password is the first 5 digits of your library card number.

Searching using ProQuest.

CQ Researcher -- Offers in-depth, non-biased coverage of today's most important issues. A new report is added to the database report each week

Each single-themed, 12,000-word report is researched and written by a seasoned journalist. The consistent, reader-friendly organization provides researchers with an introductory overview; background and chronology on the topic; an assessment of the current situation; tables and maps; pro/con statements from representatives of opposing positions; and bibliographies of key sources.

To use CQ Researcher click on the icon on the Library Home Page.

If you are accessing the database from off campus you will be prompted for a password. The password is the first 5 digits of your library card number.

Searching using CQ Researcher.

Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center is a one-stop source for information on today's hottest social issues. Drawing on acclaimed series published by Greenhaven Press and other Thomson Gale imprints, OVRC features viewpoint articles, topic overviews, full-text magazine and newspaper articles, primary source documents, statistics, images and podcasts, and links to Websites.

To use Opposing Viewpoints click on the icon on the Library Home Page.

If you are accessing the database from off campus you will be prompted for a password. The password is the first 5 digits of your library card number.

Encyclopedia Britannica includes the complete encyclopedia, as well as Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus, Britannica Student Encyclopedia and the Britannica Book of the Year. You can also use Encyclopædia Britannica Online to search an Internet directory that includes more than 300,000 links to Web sites selected, rated, and reviewed by Britannica editors.

Enciclopedia Universal en Espanol -- Utilice este recurso para investigar o navegar en busca de información en la enciclopedia o bien para encontrar palabras en el diccionario.

To use Encyclopedia Britannica click on the icon on the Library Home Page.

To use Enciclopedia Universal en Espanol, select the database from the Electronic Database list on the Library website.

Enciclopedia Universal en Espanol

If you are accessing the database from off campus you will be prompted for a password. The password is the first 5 digits of your library card number.

To begin your search, fill in the search box and click the Go button.

The results will look like this.

Click on the title of the article you want to read.

Once you find an article you want to use, you can print or email the article with the buttons near the top of the article.

You will also be able to review results from the other parts of Britannica Online by using the listing on the left side of the initial results screen.

To cite an article from Britannica Online click on the cite article button near the top of the article or look at the bottom of the article. Britannica provides examples of an MLA and APA citation.

For literary criticism, and information about literature and authors. Includes the Gale Encyclopedia of Literature and Gale Literary Index.

The foundation of the Literature Resource Center is built on Thomson Gale's three hallmark author databases: Contemporary Authors Online, offering biographical coverage of more than 124,000 writers; Contemporary Literary Criticism Select, featuring entries on all authors appearing in CLC since vol. 95 of the print series and complete profiles of 266 most studied authors from editions prior to vol. 95; and Dictionary of Literary Biography Online, containing more than 11,700 biocritical essays on authors and their works written by academic scholars.

To use the Literature Resource Center click on the icon on the Library Home Page.

If you are accessing the database from off campus you will be prompted for a password. The password is the first 5 digits of your library card number.

CountryWatch -- for information on countries and cultures. CountryWatch include the CountryReviewsTM, an up-to-date series of publications for each country including demographic, political, economic, business, cultural and environmental information; the CountryWireTM, which provides daily news coverage for every country in the world and a significant news archive made up of the compendium of regional news carriers

To use CountryWatch click on the icon on the Library Home Page.

If you are accessing the database from off campus you will be prompted for a password. The password is the first 5 digits of your library card number.

Select the country you want information about from the Select a country dropdown box on the right side of the screen.

Each report includes basic information about the country and links to more.

More types of info can be selected from the menu on the left side of the screen.

Report information can be printed using the Printer Friendly Version or Print This Page link near the bottom of the articles.

Create an assignment using one or more of the Gavilan Library Limited Access Databases.