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
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.
Searching for Articles
Sample searches in CSA Illumina Social Sciences database (scholarly social science database)
Library home > Articles > Article Databases by Subject > Sociology > Sociological Abstracts: CSA Illumina Social Sciences
1. a search using keywords, phrase searching, truncation, alternate terms:
african american* or black* (keywords)
hair (keywords)
straighten* or relax* (keywords)
keywords = searches most important parts of each item: title, abstract, descriptors (official subject terms)
phrase = 2 or more words that should be found together (ex: global warming)
truncation/wildcards: allows for variant word endings (child* = child, childs, childish, childhood, children...)
to find more: take out terms:
african american* or black* (keywords)
hair (keywords)
Watch a 3 minute movie: accessing CSA Illumina Social Sciences, searching, revising a search, using descriptors, saving items to a list, e-mailing the list!
Sample searches in Academic Search Complete: (interdisciplinary database)
Library home > Articles > General Article Databases > Academic Search Complete
opera singer* (select a field - optional)
weight* (select a field - optional)
look for specific names, situations, places, etc.
deborah voight (select a field - optional)
weight* (select a field - optional)
look for additional terms that you can use
asian* (select a field - optional)
skin lighten* or skin lighten* or skin bleach* or skin color* (select a field optional)