Q and A + Topics
What do I need to know about databases and the health sciences?
What is a database?
Put simply, a database is selected collection of information.
Each database record might contain the information you're looking for, or it might only point to another resource that contains the information, like a journal article or a web page.
For example, UpToDate contains information on a specific medical topic while PubMed contains a citation and an abstract that directs you to a specific health sciences journal article.
Who can use our databases?
UVM and University of Vermont Medical Center employees and students can use our databases, as can anyone who comes to the Dana Library.
Which databases should I use?
We recommend these life sciences and health care databases at Dana. See our "Best Bets!" highlighted at the top of the list for some of the most popular databases used by people in the health sciences.
Or browse our full list of research databases on all topics (from Agriculture to Zoology).
Do we offer classes in how to use these databases?
Faculty interested in working with Dana librarians should learn about our Library Instruction Program.
Find your health sciences librarian.
We offer in-person or virtual sessions on:
- Database & literature searching
- Measuring your scholarly impact
- Using citation management tools
- Introduction to conducting systematic or scoping reviews
- Techniques for critical appraisal
Why should I connect to PubMed (or any other database) from the library website?
Start at the library website to be sure that PubMed knows that you're affiliated with UVM, and provides you will full access.
You can start from anywhere on our site like the Dana Library page or our Research Databases list.
Learn more about off-campus access to be sure you're getting full access to library resources.
If you use browser extensions, try LibKey Nomad which provides quick access to library resources like full text articles when you're searching the internet. LibKey Nomad will authenticate you based on your UVM affiliation. If you have LibKey Nomad, you don't need to start your work on the library website, whether you're using PubMed or any other library resource.