WR 122 Robillard & Fierman: Find Articles
Why articles?
Articles are helpful in a few ways: collecting background information, finding the latest news, and deepening your understanding of a topic by reading in-depth analyses. Articles vary a lot in length and quality, so it is very important to consider the source that is publishing the information.
Below you will find some pointers on finding articles in library databases, which pull from published sources like academic journals, magazines, and newspapers. The web/Google is another easy way to find articles from published sources (newspapers, magazines) and unpublished sources (blogs, websites).
Remember that articles represent a wide swath of quality, politics, and bias, so be sure you know why the information was created! See the Evaluate Sources tab on this guide for some ways to think about online sources.
Video: Find Articles through the PCC Library
Databases
- Academic OneFile (Gale) This link opens in a new windowAcademic OneFile is a starting point for peer-reviewed, full-text articles from the world's leading journals and reference sources. Covering the physical sciences, technology, medicine, social sciences, the arts, theology, literature and other subjects, it contains millions of articles available in full-text. Includes full-text New York Times content from 1995 to present.
- 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
- 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
Mobile URL: EBSCOhost Mobile - Alt-PressWatch This link opens in a new windowA full text collection of newspapers, magazines and journals of the alternative and independent press. View the Alt-Press Watch handout.
- CQ Researcher This link opens in a new windowTopical, full text reports on controversial issues. Each report features a summary, chronology, and bibliography. Updated weekly.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowJSTOR has full text of over 1000 scholarly journals in the arts and sciences, as far back as 18xx up to 3-5 years ago. Note: It does not include current issues of the journals. All ARTstor image collections are now part of JSTOR, and can be searched using the "Images" tab then selecting "ARTstor collections".
- Google Scholar This link opens in a new windowGoogle Scholar searches the web for scholarly articles, reports, books, and other materials. If using Google Scholar from a PCC campus, you can access full text articles. If PCC has access to an article, a "Find it @ PCC" link will appear to the right of the search result. Click “Find it @ PCC” to go to the library catalog where you will be offered a choice to view the article. From home, you will need to set your Google Scholar preferences to access PCC Library resources. See How to Search PCC Library on Google Scholar for directions on how to set your Google Scholar preferences at home.
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.
Video: What are Library Databases and Why do you Need Them?
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. |
Scholarly Articles Beyond Peer Review
A scholarly source (such as a research article) is a source that presents the findings of a study, research or experimentation. Scholarly sources are written by experts in a discipline for other experts in the discipline. Scholarly sources are considered more reliable than most other sources because the results are based on research not conjecture or opinion.
While journals publish many scholarly sources (and these sources have gone through peer review), not all scholarly sources are published in journals. Scholarly sources may also be published by government agencies, by non-governmental organizations, or by non-profit organizations. These scholarly sources do not go through traditional peer review but may go through a process of internal review before publication.
Below are a few examples of scholarly sources that have not gone through traditional peer review.
- What happens after the war? How refugee camp peace programmes contribute to post-conflict peacebuilding strategies. (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees)
- Effects of groundwater flow on the distribution of biogenic gas in parts of the Northern Great Plains of Canada and United States (U.S. Geological Survey)
- Social media and the “spiral of silence” (Pew Research Center)
Scholarly sources like these will generally not be found in library databases, but check your subject or course guide for recommended websites where scholarly sources like these can be found.