Library Guides: IDIS 335: Foundations of Interdisciplinary Studies: Find articles

In the research process: ARTICLES

1. Explore topic context (casual web searching)
2. Learn basic topic information (library catalog: books)
3. Focus on current scholarly conversations (library databases: articles)
4. Synthesize your ideas with previous scholarship (source citation)

5. Drafts & revisions (librarians & learning commons)

Why Articles?

Why use articles for research?

For very recent, current information
Cover very specific subjects
Popular topics
Alternative viewpoints
Reports on scholarly research

Suggested Databases

Below is a small sampling of databases that may prove useful in finding articles for your research project. If you are incorporating a discipline that is not covered by the following databases, visit the subject guide for that specific discipline (such as economics or psychology) and explore which databases are recommended.

Academic Search Ultimate This link opens in a new window
Academic Search Ultimate offers access to an unprecedented collection of resources including journals, magazines, reports, books, and videos. Many are peer-reviewed and full-text. Subjects range from astronomy to zoology.
Communication & Mass Media Complete This link opens in a new window
Communication & Mass Media Complete, CMCC, incorporates the content of CommSearch (formerly produced by the National Communication Association) and Mass Media Articles Index (formerly produced by Penn State) along with numerous other journals in communication, mass media, and other closely-related fields of study to create a research and reference resource encompassing the breadth of the communication discipline. CMMC offers cover-to-cover (“core”) indexing and abstracts for more than 440 journals, and selected (“priority”) coverage of nearly 200 more, for a combined coverage of more than 640 titles. Furthermore, this database includes full text for 326 journals.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
JSTOR provides access to more than 12 million journal articles, books, images, and primary sources in 75 disciplines. Includes complete runs of journals with full-text of all articles published prior to the most current five years; eBooks; ArtStor images; and primary sources. Coverage spans the humanities, sciences, and social sciences.
APA PsycInfo This link opens in a new window
APA PsycInfo is the most comprehensive index in psychology and related fields, with more than 1.7 million citations and abstracts of journal articles, book chapters and books, technical reports, and dissertations. Its holdings include material from 1,700 periodicals in over 30 languages.
Social Sciences Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Provides indexing and abstracts for more than 520 publications with some links to full-text in other EBSCO databases.

Article Databases: By Subject and A-Z List

Databases by Subject

Databases A-Z List

Outward differences between popular magazines and scholarly journals

Popular Magazines Vs. Scholarly Journals