Skip to Main Content

Welcome to LIBRARY.NEIT

Menu

Articles + Databases

Research in 4 Steps

Follow this process to effectively search for articles using library databases.

Step 1: Understand Your Assignment – Identify what you need (number of sources, source types, topic scope).

Step 2: Break Down Your Topic – List main keywords and brainstorm synonyms.

Step 3: Create Search Phrases – Use Boolean operators to combine terms.

Step 4: Choose Databases – Select appropriate databases for your research level.

Boolean Operators

  • AND narrows your search (e.g. college AND tuition)
  • OR broadens your search (e.g. tuition OR fees)
  • NOT excludes terms (e.g. college NOT university)
  • Truncation (*) finds word variations (e.g. librar* = library, libraries, librarian)
  • Use quotation marks for exact phrase searching (e.g. "artificial intelligence")

Search Examples by Academic Level

First/Second Year Students

Advanced Students (Junior/Senior/Graduate)

  • Topic: "Machine learning applications in predictive healthcare diagnostics"
  • Keywords: machine learning, predictive, healthcare, diagnostics
  • Search: ("machine learning" OR "artificial intelligence" OR AI) AND (predictive OR prognostic) AND (healthcare OR medical) AND diagnostic*
  • Databases: Academic Search Ultimate, PubMed, subject-specific databases

Recommended Databases

Starting Points

Subject-Specific

Search Tips

For All Students:

  • Start with broad searches, then narrow down.
  • Filter results to "Full Text", "Peer Reviewed", and sources from the last 5 years unless historical perspective is needed.
  • Try different keyword combinations if initial searches don't work.
  • If an article you want is only available through Interlibrary Loan (ILL), do a Google search of the title of the article followed by PDF. Resources like institutional repositories and ResearchGate could yield free access to the full text. 

For Advanced Students:

  • Use subject-specific databases for specialized content.
  • Follow citation trails from key articles.
  • Use advanced search features (author, subject headings, methodology).

Access & Support

Need Research Help?

Email: library@neit.edu

Phone: 401.739.5000 x3409

Hours: Open 24 Hours. Library Staff Hours are Monday - Thursday, 8am - 7pm; Friday - Saturday 8am - 4pm.

Location: Library & Information Commons S105, East Greenwich Campus

Core Databases - Interactive Grid
EBSCO All-databases Search This link replaces the previous EBSCOhost link, which searched all EBSCO databases.
Academic Search Ultimate Academic Search Ultimate offers students a collection of peer-reviewed, full-text journals, including many journals indexed in leading citation indexes. The combination of academic journals, magazines, periodicals, reports, books and videos meets the needs of scholars in virtually every discipline ranging from astronomy, anthropology, biomedicine, engineering, health, law and literacy to mathematics, pharmacology, women's studies, zoology and more.
CINAHL Ultimate CINAHL Ultimate is a comprehensive source of full-text for nursing & allied health journals, providing full text for more than 1,300 journals indexed in CINAHL.
ERIC Provides access to education literature and resources as well as access to information from journals included in the Current Index of Journals in Education and Resources in Education Index.
MEDLINE with Full Text MEDLINE with Full Text provides authoritative medical information on medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, pre-clinical sciences, and much more. Created by the National Library of Medicine, MEDLINE uses MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) indexing with tree, tree hierarchy, subheadings and explosion capabilities to search citations from over 5,400 current biomedical journals. Full Text coverage provides 809 active full-text biomedical and health journals indexed in MEDLINE.
Nursing Reference Center Plus This EBSCOhost resource provides evidence-based information designed specifically for nurses. Students can access full text articles, practice skills and find answers to health-related questions.
O'Reilly for Higher Education 50K+ titles (including early release books and audiobooks) and 30K+ hours of video covering IT topics including cloud computing, software architecture, infrastructure and operations, programming languages, AI and machine learning, security, team management, critical thinking, and more. You can create your own profile for personalization.
Opposing Viewpoints In Context Explore various issues from all perspectives in this Gale Cengage Learning resource. Read pro/con viewpoint essays, topic overviews, primary source documents, biographies of social activists and reformers, court-case overviews, periodical articles, and more. Browse by broad category (Business and Economics, Energy and Environmentalism, Family Issues, Health and Medicine, Law and Politics, National Debate Topic, Science, Technology and Ethics, Society and Culture, or War and Diplomacy), or Browse All Issues (almost 400 social issues).
Points of View Reference Center This EBSCOhost database provides the basis from which students can realize and develop persuasive arguments and essays, better understand controversial issues, and develop analytical thinking skills. Currently the total number of topics in this product is over 340.
PubMed PubMed® comprises more than 38 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites.

What is OER?

Open Educational Resources (OER) are free, openly licensed materials that anyone can use, adapt, and share. They support affordability, access, and customization.

Need Help? Contact library@neit.edu.

Textbooks

  • OpenStax – Peer-reviewed, free college textbooks covering subjects from math and science to humanities and social sciences.
  • LibreTexts – Discipline-specific hubs with textbooks and remix tools for creating custom content.
  • Open Textbook Library – Peer-reviewed open textbooks from the University of Minnesota.
  • Pressbooks Directory – Thousands of open books hosted by educational institutions worldwide.
  • BCcampus OpenEd – Canadian open textbooks and educational resources.
  • eCampusOntario – Ontario's open educational resource materials and courses.
  • Milne/Open SUNY – Peer-reviewed textbooks authored by SUNY faculty.
  • OER Commons – Broad library of open materials with authoring and collaboration tools.
  • MERLOT II – Curated educational materials with peer reviews and ratings.
  • DOAB (Directory of Open Access Books) – Peer-reviewed academic books from scholarly publishers.
  • Open Book Publishers – Free scholarly books in humanities and social sciences.

Discipline-Specific Resources

  • OpenIntro – Statistics, probability, and mathematics textbooks.
  • NOBA Project – Modular psychology textbooks and resources.
  • CORE Economics – Modern economics curriculum and textbooks.
  • The American Yawp – Collaborative U.S. History textbook.
  • OpenRN – Open nursing textbooks and educational materials.

Interactive Courseware

Full Courses & MOOCs

  • MIT OpenCourseWare – Hundreds of complete MIT courses with materials and lectures.
  • Open Yale Courses – Recorded lectures and course materials from Yale University.
  • OpenLearn – Free courses from The Open University.
  • Saylor Academy – Complete courses with CC BY 3.0 licensing.
  • Khan Academy – Free, comprehensive educational content across multiple subjects.

Search & Discovery Tools

  • OASIS – Meta-search engine specifically designed for finding OER materials.
  • Mason OER Metafinder (MOM) – Real-time federated search across multiple OER repositories.

Licensing & Technical Support

Access & Support

Need Research Help?

Email: library@neit.edu

Phone: 401.739.5000 x3409

Hours: Open 24 Hours. Library Staff Hours are Monday - Thursday, 8am - 7pm; Friday - Saturday 8am - 4pm.

Location: Library & Information Commons S105, East Greenwich Campus

What are Federally-funded Databases?

These are research databases that are provided through federal funding initiatives, making high-quality academic and scientific resources freely available to students, faculty, and researchers. These databases contain peer-reviewed journals, government documents, and specialized research materials.

Search Tip: You can filter your search by Peer reviewed and Full Text options to find the most relevant and accessible resources for your research needs.

Major Federal Database Programs

  • PubMed – National Library of Medicine's database of biomedical and life science literature with over 30 million citations.
  • PMC (PubMed Central) – Free full-text archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature at the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
  • ERIC – Education Resources Information Center, providing access to education research and information.
  • OSTI.GOV – Office of Scientific and Technical Information, providing access to DOE research and development results.
  • GovInfo – Official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government.

Science & Technology Databases

Health & Medical Resources

  • MEDLINE – Reliable health information from the National Library of Medicine.
  • NLM Databases – National Library of Medicine's comprehensive database collection.
  • TOXNET – Toxicology and environmental health databases (retired but archives available).
  • CDC National Center for Health Statistics  – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data and statistics.
  • ClinicalTrials.gov – Database of clinical studies conducted around the world.

Education & Social Sciences

Government & Legal Resources

  • Congress.gov – Legislative information from the Library of Congress.
  • GovInfo – Official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government.
  • National Archives – Historical documents and government records.
  • Regulations.gov – Federal regulations and rulemaking information.
  • USA.gov – Official guide to government information and services.

Research Tips & Search Strategies

Advanced Search Features:

  • Use Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) to refine your searches.
  • Apply filters for peer-reviewed articles and full-text availability.
  • Utilize subject headings and controlled vocabulary when available.
  • Set date ranges to find the most current research.
  • Use quotation marks for exact phrase searching.

Access & Support

Need Research Help?

Email: library@neit.edu

Phone: 401.739.5000 x3409

Hours: Open 24 Hours. Library Staff Hours are Monday - Thursday, 8am - 7pm; Friday - Saturday 8am - 4pm.

Location: Library & Information Commons S105, East Greenwich Campus

Off-Campus Access: Most federal databases are freely accessible from any location. However, if you encounter access issues, try accessing through the library's website or contact library staff for assistance.

New England Institute of Technology Library & Information Commons S105 East Greenwich Campus One New England Tech Boulevard East Greenwich, RI 02818 Phone: 401-739-5000 x3472