Databases come in many flavors. General databases cover lots of different subject areas and include both general and specialized audience information. Specialty databases focus on more specialized publications in one subject area. You find more specialized information as well as more specialized terms in specialty databases, the "insider lingo," different from the more general-audience publications and terms found in general databases.
Comparing ProQuest Newspapers and CINAHL Plus
New Breed of Database: "Discovery" Tools, like OneSearch
In addition to the usual assortment of subscription databases available from libraries, you will often find a "discovery" tool for searching multiple sources. Our "discovery" tool is called OneSearch, and lets you search - at the same time - most of our online databases, our library catalog, and several open web resources. As with any search tool, it should be used appropriately, and with an understanding of what it does well and what it doesn't.
OneSearch is most effective:
OneSearch is not so effective: