Databases are large directories of content such as articles, images, market trend reports and scientific papers. They can be used to locate useful journal articles for your essays simply by searching within them using keywords to describe your topic. While Discover is a good place to start searching for relevant academic sources, it doesn't search all of the databases that are available through QMU (and neither does Google Scholar) so it's a good idea to find out which databases are most relevant to you (below) and how to search them effectively.
Accessing databases and the articles in them
Most databases require you to sign in using your university login.
More information on accessing our electronic databases is available here.
The PRESS Checklist is a tool used for peer review of electronic literature search strategies. You can use this checklist to evaluate your own search strategy as well, to ensure that you haven't missed any important elements.
When you are conducting a keyword search in a database, you need to take variations in spelling into account as there may be differences in UK and US spellings. This web page lists medical terms with variations in spelling.