FINDING JOURNAL ARTICLES
Journal articles are often good sources for scholarly and
detailed information on a topic. They may include analysis of a
subject, research results, and information too recent for books.
Finding journal articles is a two-stage process:
- Find the citation, using online and/or print indexes
- Find a source for the full text of the article.
Find the citations
- Choose an index to search
- Select from
Databases on the library web page.
- For most topics, start with the large general databases. (These links go to a "host" page for the vendor. Select the database from their list.)
- JSTOR and Project MUSE are entirely full-text. JSTOR includes older volumes of the journals held there.
- Use the By Subject option at the top of the list to find specialized databases related to your subject area.
"More Information" beside each database title will link to a description.
Consult a Reference Librarian if you need suggestions.
- For many databases, it is necessary to open the “host” page of the database sponsor and select the database again from their list.
- A few of the databases are only accessible in the library and require a librarian to log in.
- Print indexes are found near the Reference area on first floor. Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature
is available in print going back to 1890; the electronic version starts with 1983. A few indexes are only available in print.
- Cross Search is an alternative, a way to search several databases at the same time,
such as several journal indexes plus the library catalog. You may need
to follow up with searches in the individual databases.
(Cross Search requires a login with your UWS user name and password.)
- Search for citations
- Select a type of search; Guided search or Advanced Search will often give the most flexibility.
- Enter search terms; try variations with different terms and combinations.
- Choose search terms for the key concepts of your project.
Usually there will be two or more concepts that intersect.
Example: a project on ecology of Wisconsin forests combines
three concepts. Some useful articles might have only two of the
three concepts. - Add limits or additional terms if there are too many hits to look through. Limiting by date is often useful. Combine added terms using "and."
- Try broader terms or additional synonyms if there are few or no results. Combine alternative terms
using "or."
- If you find an item that fits or is close, try using its subject headings for additional searches.
- Most databases have search examples or a tutorial to show you various ways to structure searches.
- Truncation can pick up plurals and other forms of words, usually using an asterisk (*) or question mark (?) as a “wildcard.” For example, "child*" would also bring in citations with "children." Check the search information for the particular database.
- In most cases, expect to try several searches. Try different search terms.
Change to a keyword or subject search. Look in more than one index.
Don't assume that the first things you see are the best available.
- An option limiting search retrieval to scholarly or peer-reviewed articles is available in some databases, often in advanced search or guided search. For more detail, see Scholarly Journals and Popular Press.
- Most databases allow you to mark citations. Make a marked list of possible articles as you do searches and then use the list to look more closely at which ones would be most useful.
- See Online Searching for more about setting up searches.
- Reference Tracing
Another way to find citations for journal articles is tracing back from the sources listed in one
item to find earlier sources.
Look at the reference lists or bibliographies of articles, books, encyclopedia articles or other sources.
Try to identify the most important articles on the subject and look for authors who show up multiple times.
Then add those citations to your list to find full text.
Find the articles
- Evaluate citations and select articles to find in full text.
- Use the marked list and/or printouts of citations to identify articles that are core for you project and others that bring in secondary aspects of the topic.
- The title, subject terms, and abstract (if available) can help you decide if the article fits your topic and how important it will be to find a source of full text.
- Some databases will show how many times an article has been used as a reference in other articles indexed in that database;
a high number indicates an important article for that subject. (Recent articles haven’t had time to be cited by others yet.)
From many hits to a few sources:
At each stage of the process you will reduce the number to consider. A
possible example:
100 hits--Search Results/ Scan and mark
30 items--Marked List/ Read abstracts
10 articles--Get Full Text / Read or skim articles
5 sources--Actually Used/ Cited in references
- Identify sources of full text.
If the full text of the article is linked to the index where you found the citation, this step is easy—just select the article and print it out or e-mail it to yourself.
If full text in not directly linked, use the SFX or Find It! button to check for other sources.
(“SFX,” for “Special Effects,” is the brand name.)
Close extra windows after checking each article to keep it working smoothly.
- Possible Situations
- Full text in another database. Click on the "Go" link for the database. In many cases, you will be taken directly to the article; other databases will drop you off at a point requiring a search for the article title. Sometimes multiple databases are given as options, all should lead to the same text but the page formats may look different.
- Available in the library in print.
The Find It! line will read “Item is in: Library Catalog.”
There may be multiple records for different formats or for different date ranges. Open the library record to see the dates available. Print periodicals are on the first floor. Those older than 10 years are in storage and available by filling out a card at the circulation desk. Photocopy an article you wish to keep. Periodicals on microfiche and newspapers on microfilm are on the first floor, and reader-printers are nearby.
- Available through Interlibrary Loan only.
Find It! will show one line reading “No Full text available. Please check library catalog holdings”
and another of “Request document via Interlibrary Loan.”
Use the Journals Owned listings and the Library Catalog to double-check.
Click on Interlibrary Loan to place a request. (It may be in the "Advanced" options.) Log in with your student ID number and name. The form will be at least partly filled out. Check it, add any additional information, and submit. See Universal Borrowing and Interlibrary Loan for more detail.
- Journals Owned List
The Journals Owned List on the library web page can be used as a backup to the Find It! links or an alternative way to find full-text sources.
Sometimes the target database for Find It! is not fully compatible so the article does not show up, and a few databases do not have the Find It! link.
If you have a print citation, the Journals Owned list is probably the fastest way to find a source for the article.
The List of Journals is also a good double-check before placing an InterLibrary Loan.
The Journals Owned list includes links to the Library Catalog for journals the library actually subscribes to—in print, microfilm, or e-journal form—plus links to the databases for full text access.
Some databases link directly to the journal title (select the issue) and others require a search. Check the dates available.
The list can also be used to see journal titles available in a subject area.
See also: Cite Your
Sources for a list of citation guides available in the library and
Citation Guides for
brief online examples of the main citation styles.
Refworks
is an online service that can help you organize and format your reference list.
Tutorials are available.
The above information is also available on handouts in the library.
Last updated on October 4, 2007.
 |
The Jim Dan Hill Library
is a Government Depository Library
Belknap & Catlin, Box 2000, Superior, WI 54880
(715) 394-8343 |