A multidisciplinary or general database is one which covers a wide range of topics across multiple academic disciplines. You may want to use a multidisciplinary database if your topic is cross-disciplinary, or if you are not yet sure of the subject area into which your topic falls.
Web of Science: Large multidisciplinary database offering citation linking and citation counts.
Scopus: Large multidisciplinary science and social sciences database that is capable of backward and forward citation linking and includes citation counts.
A subject-specific database focuses on a single discipline (e.g., Dietetics) or a group of related disciplines (e.g., Life Sciences, Health Sciences, & Medicine) and usually provide comprehensive coverage of that specific field. Using a subject-specific database is ideal if you know a particular subject area is appropriate for your search topic.
AGRICOLA: Publications and resources encompassing all aspects of agriculture and allied disciplines, including animal and veterinary sciences, entomology, plant sciences, forestry, aquaculture and fisheries, farming and farming systems, agricultural economics, extension and education, food and human nutrition, and earth and environmental sciences. Coverage from 1970-present.
CAB Abstracts: Agriculture, environment, veterinary sciences, plant sciences, mycology and parasitology, food science, human health and nutrition. Offers extensive coverage of journal and nonjournal literature from around the world including annual reports, general reports, books, conference proceedings, and field notes. Coverage from 1973-present.
FSTA Direct: An extensive collection of abstracts prepared from the world's food science, food technology and food-related human nutrition literature. Provides coverage from 1969 to the present.
Global Health: Covers aspects related to human health including communicable diseases, tropical diseases, parasitic diseases and parasitology, human nutrition, community and public health, and medicinal and poisonous plants. Includes foreign language journals, books, research reports, patents and standards, dissertations, conference proceedings, annual reports, public health, developing country information, and other difficult to obtain material. 1910 to 1972.
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