Ask yourself what type of source is more likely to have the information you need and how will I use this source?:
Deciding the most likely source will help determine which database to use. Different databases are composed of information from different types of sources. BEAM is a method for helping you decide how you might use a source.
Ask yourself if the database you select provides full-text, or only citations and /or abstracts:
Understand the scope of the database you select. Ask yourself:
Although retrospective materials are sometimes added to databases, the actual article you need might not be available electronically, because it is too old or too new.
Ask yourself if there are special advanced features that can improve your search results or make searching easier:
Books, journal articles and just about everything else available at the University of Rochester can be found through Articles & Books, at http://library.rochester.edu
By default, Articles & Books searches across all of the available metadata—e.g., searching for Harry Potter Rowling will retrieve all of the books, book reviews, newspaper & magazine articles, DVDs and more where that search phrase is present. To find something more specific, start off with an Advanced Search, or drill down using Article & Books' filtering features, which show up on the left hand side of your search results.