Databases VS. Web sites

Databases

Web sites

• Fee-based. The library pays for you to have access to them

• Mostly free

• Available only to members of the Fairfield community

• Available to anyone

• Provide value-added information that has been selected, edited, and reviewed by experts
• "Peer-reviewed" scholarly articles

• Provide information that may be unfiltered, unedited, and created by anyone
• Articles probably do not go through a review process

• Updated regularly

• May not be updated

• Trustworthy, reliable

• Not necessarily trustworthy or reliable

• Purpose is to advance knowledge

• Purpose may be to sell you something or sway your opinion

• Use for scholarly research, but remember, even scholarly sources can have a bias!

• Use with caution for scholarly research; remember to evaluate the source!