Finding Articles

An article can be found in the following types of periodicals:

• Newspapers
  (example: San Francisco Chronicle)
• Magazines
  (example: Rolling Stone or Newsweek)
• Scholarly Journals
  (example: Journal of Personality)
• Trade Journals
  (example: Footwear News)

For a detailed explanation of the different types of periodicals, please see www.library.arizona.edu/help/tutorials/scholarly/guide.html

Periodical Databases

Newspapers, magazines and journals are published daily, weekly, monthly or as full text on a computer database.

The easiest way to find an article on a particular topic is to use a database. You can access the databases from the Carl Gellert and Celia Berta Gellert Library or from wherever you have an Internet connection.

Let us assume that you have been given an assignment by your instructor to write on the topic of “salary and gender differences.” To find current information on this particular topic, you will want to find an appropriate database to begin your research.

To find one of the library's databases, go to the Library's homepage. Under Online Resources, click on Online Databases. A list of databases will be displayed. From the list of databases, select one that meets your requirements. Ask a reference librarian if you need assistance in selecting a database for your research.

For the example we have chosen, we will select EBSCO's Academic Search Premier. This is a general database and indexes some 4000 journals on a variety of topics. To locate this database, click on EBSCO. This will bring you to the Login screen.

User Names and Passwords

You will notice that access to the database requires a user name and a password. (In fact, each grouping of databases requires different user names and passwords.) Please ask the reference librarian for a valid password. Type in the user name and the password. Click on Login.

Select EBSCOhost Web and you will see a list of databases that you are permitted to access. Select Academic Search Premier from the list and click Enter – see illustration below.

To begin your search, pick out the keywords (the words that describe your topic). Remember, your topic is “salary and gender differences.” Enter gender and salary in one of the fields. You can specify whether you wish to search in an author field, title field or in the full text – see illustration below.

For additional help with this database, click on Search Tips. For more comprehensive assistance with "and/or" searching strategies see: library.albany.edu/internet/boolean.html.

You can Limit or Expand Your Results by clicking on the appropriate boxes – see illustration below. For limiting your search to only those citations which include the entire article, click on Full Text. You may also limit your search to Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals.

When you click on a citation title, you will get a brief description of all parts of the citation – see illustration below.

The abstract provides you with a brief summary of the article. Note that the SOURCE heading provides not only the journal title in which the article is found, but it also provides you with the date, the volume number, and the first page of the article.

You will be able to use this information in your bibliography. Articles can be selected and marked as you scroll through your citations.

Now you are ready to search by a click on the search button. The result list includes many citations – see illustration below. Each citation is clearly labeled as to whether it contains the full text of the article. In some cases, you will have a choice of displaying the text in either HTML or PDF files.

You can also print or e-mail each citation or article.

For citations that do not display a full text icon, you will have to find the text of the article in another database.

Check the Full Text Electronic Journal Holdings List. This lists the journals that are available in other databases.

If the journal is not listed in the above listing, check to see if the library subscribes to this journal. You do this by checking the Periodical Holdings List.

This listing is arranged alphabetically by the title of each journal. It provides you with the following information:

1. the dates of the library's holdings for each journal [i.e., 1940 - 2000],
2. the format of the journal [paper or microfiche], and
3. whether a journal has been sent to the storage facility.

If the journal is listed, ask the reference librarian for help in locating it. There are five different locations where journals can be found:

1. current journal issues are shelved alphabetically by title in the Periodicals Section of the library – see illustration below;
2. older journal issues are shelved alphabetically in brown boxes in the stacks adjoining the Periodicals Section;
3. issues of journals in microfiche format are shelved in the metal cabinets adjacent to the administrative offices of the library;
4. the library also owns a few journals on microfilm; and
5. very old journal issues are shelved in a storage facility on campus.

Microfilm is shelved in the metal cabinets in the Periodicals Section – see illustration below.

Ask the reference librarian for assistance if you wish to obtain a volume from the storage facility. Allow 24 hours for the delivery of such items.

Library Tutorial:
Using the Catalog | Finding Books
Using the Web for Research | Evaluating Web Sites