To choose a database, try browsing through the journal databases collected in the Mental Health Library Resource Guide.

You can also visit the Nursing, Psychology and Humanities, Social Work & Human Services Journal Database listings for all potentially useful databases for your assessments. Note that you don't have to use every database for every assignment - but you also should not restrict your search to one database only.

Don't forget, you can also use Primo Search and Google Scholar to locate journal articles.

When you go into a journal database you will notice that many of them feature multiple search boxes that are stacked one above the other in rows.

While they may look intimidating, they can make your search process easier.

Think of each row as a train of thought. For example, if you are searching for an article about community development projects advancing equity of access to health services, you could use a new row for each element of your topic. In this case you might search for:

1st search row: "community development" OR "community programs"
2nd search row: equity of access
3rd search row: health services

You'll notice we have used some search tips in the search above. Check out the Find page for a listing of these tips. 

If you'd like to learn more about how to maximise your search using search strategies, contact the Library. We can assist you in creating an effective search strategy.

Sometimes you will read that a database is 'full text', or that an article can be found in 'full text'. 'Full text' means that the entire document is available online. When a database carries an article in full text there will be a hyperlink to view it as either a PDF or html document. Not all journal databases contain full text.

If an article is not available in full text you may be able to locate it in another database. Clicking on the button will allow you to check if the article is available elsewhere. 

• The Library holds a series of Online Library Workshops, some of these focus on journal database searching. 
• We also have a Databases Help guide that contains a wealth of information on using journal databases.