Identifying and locating articles on your topic is a simple 3-step process. If you are looking for a specific article, skip to step 4.
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1. Choose a Database
- Databases provide information about articles in a certain subject area. You can search for articles by subject, title, and/or author.
- To identify the best database for your need, click on a relevant category and review the database descriptions or see the librarians’ recommendations in the Subject Guides.
Tip: Be sure to activate your URI ID at the library Circulation Desk so you can use the databases off-campus. |
2. Search the Database
- Use significant keywords or subject terms to describe your topic when searching.
- Scan your results to identify citations that seem relevant or interesting.
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3. Get the article(s).
Be aware that articles come from various library resources. You may need to:
- Search in the library catalog for the journal title to see if the Library subscribes to this journal – either in print or electronically.
- Follow the links from the citation to the full-text online article.
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4. Already have a citation for a specific article?
- To see if the Library subscribes to the journal electronically, use the Citation Linker.
- Search in the library catalog for the journal title to see if the Library subscribes to this journal in print.
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Why should I use articles?
- Articles are a great source of highly specific information for your research.
- Articles can provide the most recent information available.
- Articles are an excellent source of historical information.
- Articles are available from many different types of publications: scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, chapters in books, conference proceedings, technical reports, trade journals, etc.
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