In research, as in other things in life, you often get what you pay for. For this reason, Sunapee Middle High School purchases numerous research databases for students in grades 6-12. SMHS’s databases provide access to quality research information found in magazines, professional journals, newspapers, and reference and other nonfiction books. It is important to understand that database sources are not regular web pages. Although many regular web pages can be useful sources of information, they are part of the free web, and therefore differ significantly from books and periodicals (magazines, journals, newspapers). Unlike books and periodicals, most web pages never undergo professional editing, for example. That is, an expert never checks the information before it gets published. A research paper that was created exclusively from free-web information, therefore, runs a distinct risk of being inaccurate. Because information from books and periodicals is considered to be more reliable, it is essential to search the library catalog and SMHS’s subscription databases when doing research. Visit the All Databases page.