​How to Find an Article:

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​​1. Pick a Database:​

• Click the “Databases A to Z” on the Schmidt Library homepage.
• ​Use the blue circle with an “i” in it to learn more about each database​.
• A good universal database is “Academic Search Premier.”

2. Refine your Search:​

• Use the “advance search” option.
• Define years of publication.
• Specify types of sources (scholarly journals).
• Note: Don’t check the “full text” box.

3. Search Word Variety:

• Write down synonyms of your search words.
• Different combinations will provide different articles.
• These will help to avoid inaccurate searches.

     Examples:

       -Dog>Canine>Pet>Wolf>Animal
       -Medical>Health>Medicine>Illness>Allergies>Cancer Detection
       -Psychology>Therapy>Emotions>Mental Health

 

4. Citation Tool:

• Click on the title of the article you are interested in first off (not the pdf) in order to get some basic information.
• Academic search premier provides a “cite” button on the right-hand side of the screen. They provide multiple forms such as MLA, APA, and Chicago.
• It is good to save the citation of an article even if you’re not sure you want to use it; you might end up needing it later. Keep a Word document open where you can quickly cut and paste article citations. This way, you can keep searching and easily come back to it later.
   

5. Subject Terms:​

• After clicking the article title, Academic Search Premier will let you know main topics the article touches on under “Subject Terms.”
• These can be clicked on to provide specific searches.
• They also give you additional search terms to use.

6. "Find Full Text”

• Articles that don’t automatically give you the pdf of an article will have a “Find Full Text” button.
• When this button is clicked, it will do one of three things:

​    1. Provide the full text of an article​

    2. Tell you the library has it in another form

    3. Necessitate document delivery

 

​7. Document Delivery:​​

    1. Create an account

    2. Fill in article information (it should usually be filled in for you)

    3. You’ll receive the document in your email after a few days (so don’t wait till the last minute!)

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​Instructions developed by writing fellow Lauren Connolly.