1. How to Find
ARTICLES

2. 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

3. The Library has thousands of journals, magazines, newspapers
and similar publications.
Most of these are available
electronically through databases
that the Library subscribes to.

4. Journals, magazines and newspapers in paper or microform formats
are kept in the Periodicals Collection
at the back of the Library.

5. What’s the difference between a
journal and a magazine?

6. 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

7. Journal Articles Scholarly Written by subject experts
Report on original research
Specific audience
Usually > 5 pages
Include abstracts
References
Usually no pictures
No advertisements

8. 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.

9. What does
“peer-reviewed” mean?

10. Peer-reviewed articles…
have been critically evaluated by subject experts.
must meet high academic standards before being accepted for publication in scholarly journals.

11. 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”.

12. OK,
how do I FIND articles
in the Library?

13. To find articles in any format, you start by searching electronically.

14. You can search for articles on any topic.
Databases allow you to search several publications at once...
...so your searching is faster and
more efficient than browsing
one publication at a time!

15. 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

16. Subject-specific databases provide more in-depth coverage of topics…
Examples:
Historical Abstracts
Environment Complete
Proquest Nursing
CBCA Business
Anatomy.tv PsychInfo
Tip: It’s usually a good idea to search more than one
database when looking for articles!

17. To search for articles on your topic...
Go to and
click on E-Resources

18. Select a subject related to your topic, or choose “General”

19. Read the database descriptions to help you select
one suitable for your topic.

20. Designing Your Search

21. First of all, identify the main concepts of your topic
“The effect of video games on adolescent behaviour”
Video games
Behaviour
Adolescents

22. 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.

23. 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.
Ways to find keywords:
Brainstorming
Dictionaries, thesauri, encyclopedias
Textbooks
Books & articles

24. Make a list of your keywords
Topic Keywords
Alternate Keywords
Video games
Electronic 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

25. Searching Academic Search Premier
Tip: When using more than one keyword or phrase, join them with “and”.

26. Look at your results... Too many articles? Not enough articles?
You need to narrow your search to make it more specific to your topic.
Not enough articles?
Your topic might be too specific. Try to broaden your search.
Results not relevant to your topic?
Try a new search using different terms or a different database.

27. Narrowing Your Search Try one or more of the following:
Use a more specific search term.
Add another search term.
Click on a subject heading.
Select a publication type, such as academic (scholarly) journals.

28. Here we’ve used the more specific term “teenage boys”, instead of “teenagers”, to narrow our search.

29. Adding another search term…
…gives fewer, more relevant results

30. Clicking on a subject heading focuses our search...

31. You can also limit your search to
Academic Journals
Tip: Some databases use the terms “scholarly” or “peer-reviewed” instead.

32. Broadening Your Search
Try one or more of the following:
Combine variations of your search terms with “OR”.
Expand the scope of your search by:
a. Using broader search terms, or
b. Reducing the number of terms in your search.
Search a different database.

33. This search using “OR” will find articles
using the word “teenagers” as well as
articles using the word “adolescents”

34. Expanding the scope of our search from “teenagers” to “children” will retrieve more articles.

35. Here we’ve broadened our search and retrieved more results
by taking out a search term.

36. Results not relevant to your topic?
Try using one or more of the following:
Synonyms, different spellings, or other words related to your search terms.
A different database.
The “Help” or “Tips” in the database.

37. Here we’ve used a related term, “aggression”, instead of “violence”
to retrieve more relevant results.

38. If you’ve been searching a general database
you may find more relevant articles
in a subject-specific database
appropriate for your topic.

39. Find other search strategies by clicking on “Help”

40. Once you have a manageable number of relevant articles,
take a closer look at your results.

41. Tip: The abstract is a summary of the article.
To find out more about an article, hold your cursor over the article preview icon
Tip: The abstract is a summary of the article.

42. 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”

43. look for a “full text” link
To get the full article,
look for a “full text” link

44. If there is no full text link, click on

45. If the article is available in another database, will link you to it.
Click on to
get the article GO
will also tell you if the article is available in print in the Library

46. 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
and click on Interlibrary Loans.

47. 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!

48. Most databases allow you to:
Print articles
Save articles to your computer or a USB key
articles to yourself or someone else
Export articles to RefWorks
Tip: Don’t save your work to the Library computers. You will lose your work if the computer shuts down.

49. Looking for a certain journal, magazine or newspaper?
Click on
Journals by Title
Enter the name of the publication in the search box

50. Journals by Title will tell you...
if the Library has the publication
what format it is in
the volumes & dates available

51. Click on here to access the publication onlineGO
Click on here to check the print holdings in the Catalogue GO

52. 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.

53. Want to access E-Resources from off-campus?
Nipissing:
Username = WebAdvisor ID
Password = WebAdvisor password
Canadore:
Username = student number
Password = birthdate (mmddyy)

54. 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.

55. 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?

56. Need help finding articles?
Please come to
the Library
Information Desk
We’re happy to help!
ext. 4221

57. Bibliography
 Trent University. (Sept. 12, 2007). Keyword Search Techniques. Retrieved Dec. 5, 2008 from
University of Minnesota Libraries. (2000). Choosing Good Keywords to Search for Articles. Retrieved Dec. 5, 2008 from
Dalhousie University Libraries. (Jan. 5, 2005). Developing a Search Strategy Worksheet. Retrieved Dec. 5, 2008 from
Dalhousie University Libraries. Problem solving strategies for database searching. Retrieved Dec. 5, 2008 from