Subject Specific Categories

A definition

If you're looking for academic sources you'll want to look in a subject specific category. An example of a “subject specific” category is Social Sciences. An example of a subcategory is Education.

The names of many of the databases in this category are much more focused than those in the "General & Multi Subject Indexes".

You do see some of the same databases that are in General & Multi Subject Indexes. That's because the databases in General & Multi Subject Indexes include some education information.

As with the "General Indexes," the trick to selecting an appropriate subject specific database is — research.

GALILEO provides detailed information via the information icon . Read the information about a database before you dedicate a search to it. A little up front reading will help you weed out the databases that don't have what you want.

The Strength of Subject Specific Categories

With subject specific categories you usually won't get full-text articles, but your results will be specific and scholarly.

What is a "citation with abstracts"?
A citation describes an item. A citation to a periodical article will include the following:

1. Title of periodical in which the article was published
2. Author(s) of the article.
3. Title of the article
4. Volume, number, and date of the issue
5. Some subject headings.

An abstract is a short paragraph describing what the article is about. Most databases include abstracts along with the citation.