Article Databases
Search an article database to find citations (title, author, title of journal, date, page numbers) for articles on a particular topic. The Library gives you access to over 200 article databases covering different disciplines.
1. Think about which academic disciplines might write about your topic. Examples: literature, film, anthropology, history...
2. Find the appropriate article database by subject (academic discipline or department). Look for "Recommended" databases.
Library home > Articles > Article Databases by Subject
Searching
Sample searches in CSA Illumina Social Science databases:
Library home > Articles > Article Databases by Subject > Sociology > Sociology Abstracts: click on the CSA Illumina Social Sciences link to search multiple social science databases
1. Example of a search using multiple terms, phrase searching, alternative terms, truncation,etc
african american* or black*
television
comed*
keywords = searches most important parts of the record
add a term to narrow your search results
male* or masculin* (keywords)
* = truncation symbol or wildcard; child* = child, childs, children, childish, childhood
2. search using official subject terms ("descriptors")
free university (keywords)
san francisco (keywords)
look for official subject terms that could be useful, for example:
experimental colleges (descriptor)
3. cannabis or marijuana (keywords)
decriminalization (keywords)
note other search terms that could be useful, such as: policy legalization marijuana laws etc.
4. to find more results, especially when the topic is too new for academic journal articles: broaden your terms
yankee stadium
broaden your terms:
stadium* or arena* (keywords)
impact (keywords)
communit* (keywords)
Sample searches in Business Source Complete:
Library home > Articles > Article Databases by Subject > Business > Business Source Complete
alcohol or tobacco (select a field)
strategic market* (select a field)
too broad? try changing the field you're searching:
alcohol or tobacco (subject term)
strategic market* (select a field)
Search Results
- click on the title to see full record (including abstracts and descriptors)
- to limit by publication type (peer-reviewed journals, conferences, books, etc.) click on the appropriate tab or link
- if necessary,look for other limits (latest update, journal articles only, english only) and more advanced searches
- select records to save to your personalized list; lists may be e-mailed, downloaded, printed
UC-eLinks - Find Article Text/Location
Once you've searched a database to find articles, you may need to use 
to link to a PDF or html file if the full text is not immediately available. Each database is a bit different, but a good rule of thumb is this: when you see the Uc-eLinks icon click on it to view your article access options, which can range from full text to a call number to an Interlibrary Loan request:
For more information, here's a tutorial on using UC-eLinks.