Download a Help Sheet on Finding Articles [PDF].
Getting Started. On the St. John's University Libraries' home page, click on either Databases A-Z or Resources by Subject. Use Databases A-Z if you know the name of the database you want to use. Otherwise, use Resources by Subject.
| Scholarly Journals |
Popular Magazines |
- Intended for an academic audience
- Written by experts
- Articles include references (footnotes)
- Are subject to peer-review
|
- Intended for a general audience
- Written by non-experts
- No References
- NOT peer-reviewed
|
Performing a Search. When searching a database, you need to use Boolean operators (and, or, not) which determine how your search is performed.
And: narrows your search. For example, global warming and hurricanes will find articles containing both terms.
Or: broadens your search. For example, global warming or climate change will find articles with either of those terms.
Not: excludes terms from a search. For example, global warming not ozone depletion will exclude articles that mention ozone depletion.
Accessing the Article. Is the article available full-text? If so, you can access the article from your computer! If the article is not available full text, try the following steps:
• Search for the periodical in Full-text eJournals (available on the libraries' homepage.)
• Check the periodicals section of the library
• Use Interlibrary Loan (Available on the libraries’ homepage.)
• When in doubt, speak to a librarian!
For tutorials on using specific periodical databases, click on any of the links below: