Many of our subscriptions allow you access if you're on Concordia's network. If you are at home or are otherwise prompted for a password, use this Subscription Access Information doc. Our access information is restricted to those within our domain, ie. the "@concordiashanghai.org" email.
Paid databases and subscription services are generally trustworthy and contain academic content suitable for research.
Are databases better to use than search engines? Think of this as a "Yes, and..." situation -- both subscription databases and the open web (ie. search engines) have strengths and limitations, so the answer is really, "Both!"