2c. Find Articles
Periodical Publications
Usually, most of the sources you use will be articles from peer-reviewed journals. The most typical way to acquire these articles is through a research database, which contains catalogued citations or even full-text articles. Learn how to find articles here.
Search the Library Catalog
How to Find Journals
If you want to look for a specific journal or browse journals by title, follow these instructions:
Navigate to the library catalog by choosing Catalog ⇒ Basic Search from the navigation bar.
In the catalog, select the Resources dropdown menu and choose the option eJournals A–Z List.
Figure 1
Dropdown Menu in the Library Catalog
When the search junction appears, select the tab labeled Journals.
Search or browse:
Search the eJournals A–Z List to find out if Northwestern provides full-text coverage.
Alternatively, select the Browse tab to see a complete list of journal titles.
Figure 2
Options in the Periodical Search Junction
Navigate to the library catalog by choosing Catalog ⇒ Basic Search from the navigation bar.
Choose the Advanced Search option.
Figure 3
Advanced Search
Under Search Index, select Title. Then type the name of the journal you want to find in the Search Term bar.
Specify Journal/Magazine under Format and conduct your search.
Figure 4
The Advanced Search Screen
While in an EBSCO database, select the tab labeled Publications to browse or search the publication list.
You can subscribe to receive updates from a particular journal by selecting the RSS icon () to the left of the journal’s title.
Publications Window in an EBSCO Database
Article Evaluation Tips
Is biographichal information for the author provided?
Who is the publisher?
How frequently is the periodical published?
- How many and what kinds of advertisements are present? Are the ads geared toward a specific discipline or occupation?
Structure of an Article
Peer-reviewed articles usually have similar structure.
Note the following components of an article. If any of these are not present, you are most likely not looking at a peer-reviewed source.
- Abstract
The abstract is a summary of the article, including its conclusions. Reading the abstract will help you determine if the article will be relevant to your project.
- Review of the literature
After a brief introduction, the article should review and summarize other studies on the same or related subjects, at the same time explaining why this new study is necessary.
- Methodology
The article should then present the methods used in the study.
- Results
The article presents the results of the present investigation.
- Discussion or analysis
- Finally, the paper should present some interpretation of the results with possible implications and suggestions for further research.
Databases
Available Databases
NWOSU subscribes to many databases.
Most research databases are proprietary, meaning you can’t access them from the open web. See our complete list of available databases on our database page:
- Research Databases
See our entire suite of available research databases.
Interdisciplinary Databases
Some databases are designed for specific subjects, but others are general or interdisciplinary, covering almost every subject.
The databases listed here have been selected for their extensive coverage:
- Academic Search Complete
- Why search here? This database contains peer-reviewed articles on almost every academic subject.
- What’s included? Content includes over 5,000 full-text journals and over 200 full-text magazines, as well as full-text monographs and conference proceedings. Additional content includes citations and abstracts for many more journals and other publications.
- JSTOR
- Why search here? JSTOR is a large, full-text database covering a wide range of academic subjects, including biology, history, law, mathematics, medicine, philosophy, political science, psychology, social science, and social work.
- What’s included? JSTOR contains the full text of thousands of journals, and its collections are especially strong for older or historic journals.
Open-Access Databases
Most databases are proprietary, but some are open access, making peer-reviewed content freely available on the web.
Here are some of the most prominent open-access databases:
- Directory of Open Access Journals
- Why search here? This open-access database contains a wide array of peer-reviewed journals on almost every subject.
- What’s included? The DOAJ contains over 20,000 full-text, open-access journals.
- PubMed Central
- Why search here? This full-text database contains peer-reviewed journals dedicated to medicine, biology, and life science.
- What’s included? The database contains over nine million peer-reviewed articles and preprints. Articles date from the late 1700s to the present.
- ScienceDirect Open Access
- Why search here? This collection of open-access journals covers almost every subject.
- What’s included? Included are over 1,300 peer-reviewed journals and books published by Elsevier.
