1. Explore topic basics (casual web searching)
2. Background (library catalog: books)
3. Current research (library databases: journal articles)
4. Support your argument (source citation)
5. Drafts & revisions (research librarians & Writing Center)
Why use articles for research?
Now is the time to be more specific with your searching. Articles tend to cover very specific or niche topics, and are also published more quickly than books, meaning the information is typically more current than the general information you can gather from books.