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
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
Contains scholarly literature on all aspects of communication studies including indexing, and abstracts for over 600 journals. Coverage: 1915-present.
JSTOR (including ARTSTOR)
Provides full-text access to a broad range of resources about the humanities, sciences, and social sciences, including primary sources, images, articles, and books. Does not contain the most recent journal articles.
APA PsycInfo
Provides access to a comprehensive index for publications in psychology and related fields, containing more than 1.7 million citations and abstracts of journal articles, book chapters and books, technical reports, and dissertations.
Social Sciences Abstracts
Includes indexing and abstracts for over 700 active peer-reviewed journals (and over 700 more that are not peer reviewed), covering the latest concepts, theories and methods from both applied and theoretical aspects of the social sciences.

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