FAQ: How do I find a scholarly article?

The library provides access to both scholarly articles and non-scholarly articles, usually mixed together, so any resource you choose should be evaluated to determine if it is scholarly or not.

Where to Search

Multi-Search

You can use the Multi-Search on the library homepage to find scholarly articles. Please note that the Multi-Search will bring back both scholarly articles and other material types like books, ebooks, video, newspaper articles, etc. unless you limit your search to scholarly articles only.

If you are looking for a specific article (meaning that you know the title of the article you need), you can search for it using these steps:

1. Enter the title of your article in the search box (use quotation marks around the title).
2. Click "Search." If we have the article you are looking for in our collection, you should see it appear on the results list. You may also need to check individual databases as not all database resources are connected to the Multi-Search.

A-Z Database List

You can use the A - Z Database List on the library homepage to access the list of databases we have and search within them for an article on your topic. Some databases cover a lot of topics while others are subject-specific. Use the description under each database to determine if that database is right for your research.

Try using a database that includes all or mostly scholarly materials. These databases are marked with a  icon on the A-Z Database List.

1. Look for the "All Database Types" drop-down menu near the top of the A-Z Database List.
2. Choose "Includes Mostly Scholarly Sources" from that menu. This will limit the list to just databases that include all or mostly scholarly materials.

Publication Finder

The Publication Finder This link opens in a new window is a search tool that allows you to search at the journal level rather than the article level. You can use it to search for a journal by title or browse journals by subject or database, then search for your topic within the journal.

Search Tips

The following tips may help you find scholarly articles more easily:

1. You may want to use articles that are published in peer-reviewed journals.
   • Peer-reviewed journals (also sometimes called refereed journals) include articles that have gone through a process of feedback and iteration.
   • In short, this means that the article was written by an expert, reviewed by other experts in the field who provide feedback and changed or edited by the author based on the feedback before publication.
   • Articles from peer-reviewed journals are considered scholarly.
2. Try using limiters to find articles published in peer-reviewed and/or scholarly journals (all peer-reviewed journals are scholarly but not all scholarly journals are peer-reviewed).
   • Some of the library's databases allow users to limit search results to articles that are published in peer-reviewed and/or scholarly journals.
   • This will help you narrow down your results and find scholarly articles, but it can be imperfect, so you should always still evaluate articles you find to ensure that they are considered scholarly.