To access the electronic databases, go to the UCT Libraries web site (http://www.lib.uct.ac.za) and hover your mouse over Search & Find in the top menu bar. In the dropdown menu, click on Databases to open the alphabetical list of databases, where you can navigate to the database you need.
Google Scholar is a Web search engine that specifically searches scholarly literature and academic resources.
There is overlap between the content in Google Scholar and the Library's individual databases. Also, many citations in Google Scholar will link to full text in the Library's databases or in publicly available databases, click on ViewIt@UCT to access the full text.
Google Scholar can be a convenient starting place, but it is not a comprehensive "one-stop shop." For more precise searching, more search features, and more content, use the Library's databases.
(Source: Sam Houston State University)
Databases are searchable collections of records describing journal articles and other documents such as conference papers, reports, and book chapters. They are produced commercially or by learned societies, and most of them are international in scope, thus enabling you to explore the world's literature in a particular field. When you search a large international database, the articles you discover may, or may not, be available in UCT Libraries. Most databases provide abstracts (or summaries) of the articles' content, and some provide the full text of the articles themselves.
Where the full text is not available from the database, click on ViewIt@UCT (Google Scholar) or 
to help you track the full article. You can also use PRIMO to find out if we have the journal in printed format.
If UCT does not have access to a journal, please request the article via our Interlibrary Loans service.
Below is a selection of databases we recommend for Planning and Urban Design students: