Finding Articles

After you have completed this Finding Articles Module you will:

• Understand what a research database is and when to use one
• Understand the difference between scholarly and popular articles
• Have learned time-saving and precision-improving search techniques
• Know how to use Academic Search Premier--a database you may use for BMZ 115/116 (but remember, this database will also serve your research needs for other classes too!)

To find articles you need to use an article database, also called a research database, or just database. Some articles are available on the web, but when you use a database, you are systematically covering your topic. Databases provide access by subject, date, author, and many other categories that a web search cannot. You will save time and effort, and find more precisely what you need, by using a database to find articles.

Information comes in many formats, such as books, newspaper articles, journal articles, web pages and videos. What's so special about a journal article? Journal articles typically:

• Provide current information written by an expert in the field
  • Are published quicker than a book
• Provide information about a specific aspect of a topic
  • Do not cover as much information as a book
• Bring information up to date
  • Build on previously published work
• Report results of an experiment/observation
  • This is what I did, how and my results
• Add to the body of scientific knowledge

Some articles are written by experts for other experts, and some articles are written by journalists to inform non-experts. Your research may require that you use scholarly as well as popular articles. How do you tell the difference? Click on the questions below to explore the differences.

Source: http://www.lib.washington.edu/uwill/research101/basic02.htm

Learn about the Tools that you can use.