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

info@eclibrary.ca

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