Jen,

When I was a hs teacher librarian, of course we encouraged students to use databases for research.  But the numbers went up when we got the teachers on board.  The teachers who assigned major research projects for juniors and seniors began to REQUIRE a given number of sources found on databases in their Works Cited page.  It also got me in the classrooms working with students on research when some of them realized they weren't finding what they needed because their subjects were so specialized, they required more carefully chosen search terms or even Advanced Search.  The look on a student's face when he/she reported to me, "I've searched all period and there's either nothing or it's irrelevant," and I typed in a slightly different combination of search terms leading to spot-on hits:  priceless.  But that's what college level research is all about!

Cathy Andronik
Brien McMahon HS (retired)