LibGuides: Getting Started with Finding Articles: Home

Where to start your search for articles

As a college student, you're probably going to need to find articles for your research papers. Here are a few tips on where to start your search:

Library Search

This is a great place to start if you're not sure what database to use.

searches almost all of the library's databases and resources at once
find information on topics that cut across different disciplines
the number and variety of results can be overwhelming, so you may need to filter through them to find what you need.

Subject Specific Databases

automatically limited to a specific field of study, so they can be a great way to find articles that are relevant to your topic
often offer unique advanced search features that can help you narrow down your results
may miss some items that are not included in the database

Academic Search Ultimate

has broad coverage like LibrarySearch, but it produces fewer results
less likely to find irrelevant articles, but you may also have to do a little more work to find what you need.

Searching for a known item

Find a known item by doing “Title Search” using LibrarySearch.

Library Search can be found on the library homepage. You'll get better results if you choose the 'Title' radio button before doing your search. This works for both specific articles and for journals by name.

For articles: If you see your article in the results list, it may be available in full text in one of our databases, or you may be able to request it.

For journals: If we have access, you can choose the Access options and then browse or search within the journal.

Find a Known Item by Using Publication Finder

You can also search for specific journal titles searching Journals by Name

Videos and Tutorials

Use these videos and tutorials to learn how to start your research!

Tutorial: Why Information Literacy Matters Use this tutorial to show students how information literacy is relevant to their day-to-day lives. Students will become familiar with their own information seeking habits, privilege, and skills used in their personal, academic, and professional lives.
Video: The Research Process Part 1 (Pre-Research) and Part 2 (In-Depth Research, Outlining, and Writing Use this video to demonstrate the value of pre-research. Students will learn how to align their initial exploration to their assignment requirements.
Tutorial: Developing a Research Focus In this tutorial, students will be introduced to pre-research techniques to determine the scope and depth of their research focus.
Video: How to Narrow Your Topic Do your students have trouble selecting a topic for a research assignment? This video will outline the process to help students hone in on a compelling research topic with appropriate scope using strategies like strategic searching. Students will also understand the importance of open mindedness and flexibility in the research process.
Tutorial: Scholarship as Conversation Use this tutorial to encourage students to develop a scholarly mindset. In this tutorial, students will learn how their projects help build the body of work in a given field. Additionally, students will become familiar with the process of attribution and critical evaluation.
Tutorial: Research for Persuasive Writing This tutorial will introduce students to the purpose and characteristics of persuasive writing in order to locate and select the most appropriate types of evidence to support their assignments. Students will also be able to evaluate both supporting and conflicting evidence in order to incorporate the appropriate types of evidence that will strengthen their position and present a nuanced view of their selected topic.

Video Gallery

Five Quick Tips for Searching Library Databases

Obtaining Articles from Library Databases

How do I find a specific journal?

Limiting to Peer Reviewed Journals

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