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How to Find
ARTICLES
Why use articles?
• Provide up-to-date information
• Deal with current topics → the latest research, theories, interpretations, news
• Most have a specific focus
• May reflect a particular viewpoint
The Library has thousands of
journals, magazines, newspapers
and similar publications.
Most of these are available
electronically through databases
that the Library subscribes to.
Journals, magazines and newspapers in paper or microform formats
are kept in the Periodicals Collection
at the back of the Library.
What’s the difference between a
journal and a magazine?
Magazine Articles
• General-interest • Written by reporters, feature
editors• Meant to entertain• Wide audience• Usually < 5 pages• No abstracts or references• Glossy, with pictures• Advertisements
Journal Articles
• Scholarly
• Written by subject experts
• Report on original research
• Specific audience
• Usually > 5 pages
• Include abstracts
• References
• Usually no pictures
• No advertisements
Journals vs. Magazines
In college and university
you are often expected to use
“scholarly” sources of information.
Scholarly articles are found in journals.
Tip: Scholarly journals are sometimes called “academic” journals.
What does “peer-reviewed” mean?
Peer-reviewed articles…
have been critically evaluated by subject experts.
must meet high academic standards before being accepted for publication in scholarly journals.
When you use peer-reviewed articles,
you know you have the
most reliable scholarly information published!
Tip: Some journals use the term “refereed”
instead of “peer-reviewed”.
OK,how do I FIND articles
in the Library?
To find articles in any format,
you start by searching electronically.
Databases allow you to search several publications at once...
...so your searching is faster and
more efficient than browsing
one publication at a time!
You can search for articles on any topic.
Some Library databases include articles on a variety of topics…
Examples:Academic Search Premier
Vocational Studies Complete
CBCA Reference
CPI.Q. Canadian Periodicals
Canadian Newstand
Subject-specific databases provide more in-depth coverage of topics…
Examples:Historical Abstracts
Environment CompleteProquest Nursing
CBCA BusinessAnatomy.tv PsychInfo
Tip: It’s usually a good idea to search more than one
database when looking for articles!
To search for articles on your topic...
Go to www.eclibrary.ca and
click on E-Resources
Select a subject related to your topic, or choose “General”
Read the database descriptions
to help you select
one suitable for your topic.
Designing Your Search
First of all, identify the main concepts of your topic
Video gamesAdolescents
Behaviour
“The effect of video games on adolescent behaviour”
Video games, adolescents and behaviour are called “keywords”.
• Keywords are single words or short phrases that represent concrete ideas.
• Keywords are what you use to search for articles.
Next, think of other ways to express these topic keywords, including...
... synonyms
... related words
... other forms of your keywords, such as alternate spellings, plural vs. singular, etc.
Make a list of your keywords
Topic Keywords Alternate Keywords
Video gamesElectronic games, computer games
Adolescents
Teen, teenage, teenagers, adolescents, adolescence, youth(s)
Narrower terms - girls, boys
Broader term - children
Behaviour
Behavior
Narrower terms - violence, aggressiveness, aggression, fighting, bullying
Searching Academic Search Premier
Tip: When using more than one keyword or phrase, join them with “and”.
Look at your results...
Results not relevant to your topic? Try a new search using different terms or a different database.
Not enough articles?
Your topic might be too specific. Try to broaden your search.
Too many articles? You need to narrow your search to make it more specific to your topic.
Narrowing Your Search
Try one or more of the following:
1. Use a more specific search term.
2. Add another search term.
3. Click on a subject heading.
4. Select a publication type, such as academic (scholarly) journals.
Here we’ve used the more specific term “teenage boys”, instead of
“teenagers”, to narrow our search.
Adding anothersearch term…
…gives fewer, more relevant results
Clicking on a subject heading focuses our search...
Tip: Some databases use the terms “scholarly” or “peer-reviewed” instead.
You can also limit your search to
Academic Journals
Broadening Your SearchTry one or more of the following:
1. Combine variations of your search terms with “OR”.
2. Expand the scope of your search by:
a. Using broader search terms, or
b. Reducing the number of terms in your search.
3. Search a different database.
This search using “OR” will find articles
using the word “teenagers” as well as
articles using the word “adolescents”
Expanding the scope of our search from “teenagers” to “children” will retrieve more articles.
Here we’ve broadened our searchand retrieved more results
by taking out a search term.
Results not relevant to your topic?
Try using one or more of the following:
1. Synonyms, different spellings, or other words related to your search terms.
2. A different database.
3. The “Help” or “Tips” in the database.
Here we’ve used a related term,
“aggression”, instead of “violence”
to retrieve more relevant results.
If you’ve been searching a
general database
you may find more relevant articles
in a subject-specific database
appropriate for your topic.
Find other search strategies by clicking on “Help”
Once you have a manageable
number of relevant articles,
take a closer look at your results.
To find out more about an article, hold your cursor over the article preview icon
Tip: The abstract is a summary of the article.
In most databases, you can access the abstract from the results list
by clicking on the article title,or on one of the following links:
• “Abstract”
• “View record”
• “Bibliographic page”
To get the full article,
look for a “full text” link
If there is no full text link, click on
will also tell you if the article is available in print
in the Library
If the article is available in another database, will link you to it.
Click on to
get the article
GO
If you click on and see the message
it means the full article is not available
in any format in the Library.
You can request it through Interlibrary Loans.
To find out how to do this, go to www.eclibrary.ca
and click on Interlibrary Loans.
Remember to keep records of all the articles you use for information…
This will help if you want to find them again later!
You will also need this information when you prepare your bibliography.
Tip: Remember to note the dates you retrieve articles from electronic databases – this is usually required in your references!
• Print articles
• Save articles to your computer or a USB key
• Email articles to yourself or someone else
• Export articles to RefWorks
Most databases allow you to:
Tip: Don’t save your work to the Library computers. You will lose your work if the computer shuts down.
Looking for a certain journal, magazine or newspaper?
Enter the name of the publication in the
search box
Click on
Journals by Title
if the Library has the publicationwhat format it is in the volumes & dates available
Journals by Title will tell you...
Click on here to access the
publication online
Click on here to check the
print holdings in the Catalogue
GO
GO
Another way to find articles
If you’ve found a good article…
…Look at the references to see what
sources the author cited.
You’ll find more articles related to your topic!
Tip: Use Journals by Title to find an article when you have a citation and don’t know what database it is in.
Want to access E-Resourcesfrom off-campus?
Nipissing: Username = WebAdvisor ID
Password = WebAdvisor password
Canadore:Username = student number
Password = birthdate (mmddyy)
Evaluating your articles...
...is an essential step in your research!
Look at your search results
critically to decide if the articles
are suitable for your topic.
For each article, decide...
Is the author qualified to write on the topic?
Is the information current?
Is it accurate?
Is the article unbiased?
Is it relevant to your topic?
Does it provide enough information?
Need help finding articles?
474-3450 ext. 4221
Please come to
the Library
Information Desk
We’re happy to help!
Bibliography
Trent University. (Sept. 12, 2007). Keyword Search Techniques. Retrieved Dec. 5, 2008 from http://www.trentu.ca/admin/library/help/skills/keyword.shtml
University of Minnesota Libraries. (2000). Choosing Good Keywords to Search for Articles. Retrieved Dec. 5, 2008 from http://tutorial.lib.umn.edu/infomachine2b4a.html
Dalhousie University Libraries. (Jan. 5, 2005). Developing a Search Strategy Worksheet. Retrieved Dec. 5, 2008 from http://tinyurl.com/54te8r
Dalhousie University Libraries. Problem solving strategies for database searching. Retrieved Dec. 5, 2008 from http://tinyurl.com/58yteu