What is a database?

A database is a collection of data grouped together for a specific purpose. A database is used to keep large amounts of information organised. This enables people to search for relevant information. You can sort, browse and find information in a database.

Many different types of databases are available in the Library. Some are available on the Internet and others on CD-Rom.

Some examples of databases:

Different types of databases:

In a Library there are basically four types of databases:

	TYPE		DESCRIPTION
	Bibliographic databases		Index - These databases include only the essential details that will help you to find the material you are looking for, e.g. name of the journal/periodical/book, name of author, volume number, issue number, date, etc. Abstract Index - This type of database includes the essential information as described above as well as a short abstract (summary) of the content of the publication.
	Full-text databases		Contains full-text articles, etc. An example of such a database would be Ebscohost. The text can be downloaded in different formats, such as pdf (portable document format) or html (hyper text mark-up language) format.
	Numeric databases		This type of database provides numerical data such as statistics, survey results, census information, etc.
	Hybrid databases		This type of database provides a combination of different types of records.

Each database will have a description of what is available on the database. Make sure to read these descriptions before you start your search. Some databases are available to all students and lecturers for searching, while others may only be used by the Librarians, because of licence constraints.