Databases

Click here to look at any of the below sections of Britannica Online. || Pre-K to Second Grade interactive online learning tool covering letters, numbers, sounds, geography, reading, and more. || Search level-appropriate reference articles, journals, magazines, the Web's Best Sites, multimedia, and curriculum content. Also included is Merriam-Webster online dictionary, A-Z biographies, Timeline creator, and more!

Search level-appropriate reference articles, journals, magazines, the Web's Best Sites, multimedia, and curriculum content. Also included is Merriam-Webster online dictionary, A-Z biographies, Timeline creator, and more!

Search level-appropriate reference articles, journals, magazines, the Web's Best Sites, multimedia, and curriculum content. Also included is Merriam-Webster online dictionary, A-Z biographies, Timeline creator, and more!

ProQuest K-12
ProQuest K-12 is a vetted source for information for all of our students for personal information needs through to the demanding needs of high school research. The login and password for this site is available from Mrs. Malm or Mrs. Braun in either library. Students will be given a card with this information on it early in the school year. Keep this card handy as it will be a great resource for our students to use. When you come to the main page, on the left sidebar is the username and password. Enter that information and then click the orange "MY PRODUCTS" button directly below the password box. That will take you to the three sections of our database. Currently we use, CultureGrams, SIRS Discoverer, and SIRS Knowledge Source. SIRS Discoverer is designed for k-8th grade students use and SIRS Knowledge Source for 7-12th grade students. CultureGrams has several sections on the World Edition, Kids Edition, which is more visually appealing and geared toward elementary students, and then the States and Provinces section. Check out these great resources for all your reports and homework needs!


 * WHY USE PROQUEST INSTEAD OF GOOGLE???**

Reason #1 No **paid placements**. With Google, the sites actually pay to be in the top spot. The information that is brought up on a keyword search returns not necessarily the best information, but those who paid the most to have their information at the top of the search results. So, what's the problem with that? Quality and reliablity. ProQuest is provides information that is reliable and source checked. The information brought into this database is designed for school and academic research. Reason #2 **Keyword Search vs Natural Language**. ProQuest is set up to help you find what you are looking for using natural language questions or phrases. Google does not have the same capabilities, it requires keywords and it is hit or miss with the terminology. Have you ever noticed how the search pulls information based on percentages within your search terms? For example, a search on the keyword phrase, "Iraq war 1991" produces results such as "Iraq 40% and war 25% and 1991 35%" This means that it is looking at the words individually and not as a whole concept like we would in natural language. ProQuest would look at the whole phrase and produce more accurate results pertaining to Desert Storm even if you didn't use those terms.

Reason #3 **Subject Searching and Recommended Search Terms**. ProQuest is sortable by multiple filters, such as magazines, newspapers, websites, images, media, date, and on and on... Also, the Search term clusters can lead you down the research road to other valuable resources by suggesting similar or closely linked terms that pertain to your initial search. This helps you get to the sources you need quicker!

Reason #4 **Citation and Bibliography tools.** Does Google make a citation list for you or save your search so that you can look back at it later? Does Google offer you folder options to keep on-going lists for multiple projects? Does Google make it easy to create a bibliography by adding or removing items searched by a simple click on/off method? Guess what **PROQUEST DOES IT ALL!!**

Look, I know you need a **login name and password**, but the power that ProQuest provides you far outweighs the headache of Google searching and fact checking everything you use!!! If you forgot the login information, look around the school **it is posted in the libraries, in the computer lab, in the classrooms....and Mrs. Malm and Mrs. Braun will help you!**