College Writing: Finding Articles

Always check with your instructor for which types of articles are acceptable for your coursework.

• Scholarly Journals are also referred to as "academic" or "peer-reviewed" journals. They publish authoritative research articles by academics or experts in a discipline. The articles often undergo peer-review, which means they are evaluated by other experts before approved for publication.
• Trade or Professional Journals are written by and for professionals in an industry. These are important for members of the profession to follow industry news and trends. They may contain data or other information useful for research.
• Magazines are considered "popular"; they provide information and entertainment for the general public.

Review the chart below for criteria to distinguish the different types of periodicals.

1. Select Peer-Reviewed or Scholarly when you search

Omnivore ArticleSearch, and most databases, have a button to check when you search or limit/filter your search results.
Omnivore Articles screenshots 

2. Confirm that it is a Research Article

Limiting your search results to articles published in peer reviewed scholarly journals is the first step. 
Scholarly Journals include other types of documents, such as essays, literature reviews, book reviews, commentary, letters to the editor, announcements, etc. So...

How do I know if it is a research article? 

A research article reports the original work of a scholar and will present evidence and conclusions.

Read the Abstract (summary of the article) or Introduction (first paragraph)  to identify the type of article and the topics covered. 

A research article must have:

• a named Author
• a Bibliography or References
• PDF format available
• more than a few pages

Start with Multidisciplinary Databases to explore your topic. Click here for more Databases

To access Databases off-campus, use your CIA email username and password.

Searching is a process, you will try one search, evaluate your results, modify your strategy and try again.

• Start with simple keyword searching
   
• Use the Database Options to Refine or Limit and narrow your search
   
• LIMITS include;
  • Scholarly & Peer Review
  • Full-Text
  • Date of Publication
  • Format or Document Type e.g. article, book review, letter to editor
     
• Evaluate an article by reading the Abstract or summary.
   
• Review your results to identify concepts & terminology that can help improve your search results.
   
• Look at Subject Headings & Descriptors, standard vocabulary terms that describe the contents of articles
   
• Use the Advanced Search screen to mix and match keywords and subjects and more.

​Advanced Search Tips

Phrase Searches    
Search for complete phrases by enclosing them in quotation marks. Words enclosed in double quotes will appear together in all results exactly as typed, e.g. "culinary science", "fast casual"

Truncation & Wildcards *  
The asterisk ('*') matches non-space characters, starting at the specified position in the word. For example, "farm*" will match "farm", "farmer", "farmed", "farming", "farmworker", "farmhouse", etc.

Boolean Operators
Use AND or OR to specify multiple words in any field, any order. Use AND NOT to exclude words.

• stocks AND sauces {search results must have both terms}
• stocks OR sauces {must have at least one of the terms}
• stocks NOT sauces {must have first term and must not include second term}
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• Use the Database Tools to Email, Save & Cite articles.