Writing: Find Articles
Databases
- EBSCOhost This link opens in a new windowSearch from a wide range of research databases for magazine and journal articles. Updated daily.
View the EBSCOhost handout - US Major Dailies This link opens in a new windowFull text newspapers from five U.S. national and regional newspapers: New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and the Chicago Tribune
- Credo Reference This link opens in a new windowProvides online versions of 500 published reference works, including general and specialized dictionaries and encyclopedias. Try the Concept Map to search for terms and topics that are interconnected and displayed in a visual form.
- Opposing Viewpoints (Gale In Context) This link opens in a new windowA source for information on current social issues. Includes viewpoint articles on multiple sides of an issue, topic overviews, statistics, links to websites, and full text magazine and newspaper articles. View the Opposing Viewpoints handout [pdf]
- SIRS Issues Researcher This link opens in a new windowFull text information on social issues, science, health, history, government, business, and the arts and humanities. Citations include Lexile reading levels. View the SIRS Knowledge Source handout [pdf].
- ProQuest This link opens in a new windowSearch a wide variety of diverse content from many disciplines. Includes ebooks, streaming videos as well as news, magazine and scientific journal articles. View the ProQuest handout.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowFull text of over 1000 scholarly journals in the arts and sciences, from their earliest issues up to 3-5 years ago. Does not include current issues of the journals. Video tutorials are available.
More Databases
- Credo Reference This link opens in a new windowA great place to begin your research. You'll find encyclopedia articles for an overview of your topic, and then use links on left side of screen to repeat your search in other library databases with periodical articles.
- Gale Ebooks (formerly GVRL) This link opens in a new windowGale eBooks has over 200 encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research. Look here for biology, chemistry, nursing and medicine, sociology, history, education, law, and more.
- Gender Studies (Gale OneFile) This link opens in a new windowThis collection of more than 30 journals aims to provide balanced coverage of this significant aspect of our culture, covering such topics as gender studies, family and marital issues, health aspects, and many more.
- Gale Power Search This link opens in a new windowFind magazine and journal articles here. You can search all of the Gale databases at once or select just the ones you want.
Subscribe to The New York Times - for free!
- Get Started with the New York TimesPortland Community College Library is now providing access to the New York Times. This subscription includes:
-- articles, multimedia with interactive graphics, videos, photography, and virtual reality found in the NYT App (stories told through enhanced technology), newsletters and podcasts
No daily limit to the number of articles you can download
-- Archives (dating back to 1851) (5 PDF article downloads from Times Machine per user per day/100 per month)
-- Spanish and Mandarin Chinese versions of NYTimes.com.
--Faculty: You have unlimited access to two learning tools: New York Times in Education and The Learning Network
What are library databases?
Video: Find Articles through the PCC Library - The Basics
Reading a Search Results Page from a Library Database
Library databases are great places to find published articles, but the results pages can be confusing, so this video will give you some tips to help you find useful results.
Types of Articles
There are many different types of articles. The chart below can help you figure out which type(s) you're looking for or identify an article you've already found:
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News articles provide the most current information. Certain newspapers, such as the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, are also known for thoughtful, in-depth analyses of important topics and events. |
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Popular magazine articles can help you generate ideas about issues, controversies, or unanswered questions about a topic, which you might want to explore further. They sometimes refer to studies or scholarly work that you can track down for more information. |
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Trade publications are written by and for professionals within an industry. These are an excellent source of very specific information from inside the field. |
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Scholarly journal articles go through a process of peer review before they are published. They are written by experts in the field (the people with letters after their name!) and their purpose is to advance the ongoing body of work within the discipline. These articles might present original research data and findings, or take a position on a key question within the field. They can be difficult to read, because their intended audience is other experts and academics, but they are at the top of the line when it comes to authoritative information. |