Find Articles - Getting Started

1. Determine the words you will use to describe your topic.
2. Decide on the type of article you need to find.
   • Scholary articles-- written by specialists, better for most college-level papers, ie. Journal of Abnormal Psychology
   • General articles-- written by variety of authors, for the general reading public, ie. Time,Newsweek
3. Identify the index or database(s) relevant to your topic and research needs.
   • Use the Database Listing by Title page to read descriptions of each database available. Click the image next to the title of the database for more information.
   • Two useful databases that include articles about many different topics and also contain information from scholarly journals are:
     • Academic Search Complete
     • Academic OneFile
   • Examples of other more subject-specific databases include: PsycInfo, MLA (English and Literature research), CINAHL (nursing)
4. Locate the articles in the library collections.
   • Search the Databases to find citations to journals, some of which are available full-text. These are NOT "Internet resources." They are just another way of looking at the journal using a web browser.
   • For articles not available in Full Text, click the "Search for Full Text" button. From this screen, a program will search for your article in our databases. If it cannot be found, you will be presented with the option to request the item via Interlibrary Loan.
   • If you have questions regarding a specific title, use our Journals & Newspaper Listing to determine if the item is available in full-text.

Last Updated 11/14/2010