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EBSCOHost research databases

Tips and tricks for searching two EBSCOHost research databases: Sociology Source Ultimate and the Nonprofit Organization Reference Center.

About this guide

In this guide, you will find tips and tricks for searching two EBSCOHost research databases: Sociology Source Ultimate and the Nonprofit Organization Reference Center. Both databases can be searched at the same time from one portal.

If you are looking for information on searching Social Work Reference Center, see the guide here.

Access & Authentication

About EBSCOHost research databases

Sociology Source Ultimate is the most comprehensive sociology and social work research database available from EBSCO. It provides access to over 1,000 active full-text peer-reviewed journals, including over 50 titles specific to child welfare, child and youth development, and family studies.

The Nonprofit Organization Reference Center is a research database of peer-reviewed journals and other publications relevant to the non-profit sector. Covered topics include corporate and board governance, human resource management, volunteer engagement, public relations, and more.

Why use research databases?

Research databases primarily provide access to peer-reviewed journals.

Most scholarly research reports, or articles, are published in peer-reviewed journals. To be published in a peer-reviewed journal, an article must be vetted and approved by a team of experts. This process is intended to ensure that only valid research is published. While it isn't a perfect system, peer-reviewed articles are considered a very trustworthy source of information.

To learn more about peer-review process, watch this short video from NCSU Libraries:


You should use research databases and consult peer-reviewed articles when you are:

  • interested in keeping up with the latest scholarly findings (peer-reviewed articles are the main vehicle for academic publishing)
  • looking for in-depth, specialized information on a topic (peer-reviewed articles are thoroughly researched)
  • conducting a literature review or undertaking new research (by reviewing the peer-reviewed literature you will get a sense of what has and what has not already been investigated)
  • wanting to assess if research is applicable to your local context or can be translated into practice (peer-reviewed articles provide detailed information about methodology, theoretical framework, and data collection – all of which can be critically evaluated)