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Research Process Tutorial

Use the Library Databases to Find Articles

Library databases are a searchable collection of published information from various sources, such as academic journals, magazines, government documents, essays, or multimedia.

Search Library databases to find articles on your topic. Many will include the full-text of the article, and some databases will also help you find books, images, videos, company reports, and more on your topic. Also, databases are accessible both in the Library, on campus and off-campus through the campus network.

General article databases are a good place to start since they include both popular and scholarly journal titles covering numerous disciplines. Simply choose one of those databases and type in your keywords to begin to find articles.

Article Formats

Depending on the database you are using, articles may be displayed in different formats:

  • Index:
         Includes only the article’s citation information (e.g. author, title, date, volume, etc.).
         Neither a summary, nor the full-text of the article are available.
    Abstract:
  •      Includes the article’s citation information and a brief summary of the article's
         content. Abstracts do not include the full-text article.
    Full-text:
  •      Includes an electronic copy of the actual article. Depending on the database, the
         article may be available in HTML format, .pdf format (displays the article as it
         originally appeared in the magazine with graphics and pictures), or both.

Scholarly vs Popular