The Missouri State University Libraries offers hundreds of databases on a plethora of subjects to support research conducted by faculty, students, and staff, and, when allowed by the terms of the various license agreements, to other users. 

All these databases get used, but which ones receive the most use? There are many ways to measure use and value. Two common measures are the total number of “hits” made by MSU-affiliated users in a given fiscal year, and the cost per use in any given fiscal year. 

In FY19, the most recent fiscal year with complete usage data, the most heavily used database was by far Academic Search Complete, with 144,709 hits, almost three times the number of hits of the second most-used database, JSTOR. Here are the top ten, when measured this way:

1. Academic Search Complete (144,709)
2. jSTOR (49,059)
3. SIRS Researcher (14,447)
4. Nexis Uni (formerly LexisNexis Academic) (13,918)
5. PsycINFO (10,709)
6. Project Muse (6,277)
7. CINAHL (Nursing & Allied Health) (3,865)
8. Communication & Mass Media Complete (3,576)
9. ERIC (Education) (3,395)
10. PsycARTICLES (2,759)

The top ten databases in FY19 in terms of cost-per-use:

1. SIRS Researcher (18 cents)
2. CQ Researcher Plus Archive (52 cents)
3. Academic Search Complete (57 cents)
4. JSTOR (63 cents)
5. Oxford Reference Online (69 cents) 
6. APA Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (70 cents)
7. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Nutrition Care Manual (76 cents)
8. Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database (83 cents)
9. Education Full Text ($1.16)
10. Cost of Living Index ($1.33)