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 America: History and Life
Library home > Articles > Article Databases by Subject > H > History > America: History and Life
To search, start with a word or phrase (two or more words together)
Narrowing: think about places, people or groups, time periods, aspects or events that might help you narrow your topic
Examples:
1. women's suffrage
2. add another term in the search box below: california
3. for time period, click on search options and add in "historical period from" 1800 to 1900
to limit by years of publication, add to "published date from" January 1980 to December 2010
4. modify search instead of "california" try temperance
5. modify search instead of temperance try periodicals or newspapers or journalists
6. if that search seems too broad, change "select a field" to "subject" next to your search terms
JSTOR
Library home > Articles > General Article Databases > JSTOR
REMEMBER: JSTOR doesn't include articles from the last 3-5 years!!!
Advanced Search
1. immigra*
irish
(* = truncation/wildcard symbol: immigra* retrieves immigrant, immigrants, immigration, immigrating...)
2. to narrow your search further, add another search term, or try searching for your terms in the titles of the articles:
immigra* (item title)
irish (item title)
advanced search also allows you to limit to certain years of publication (1980-2010, for example), to specific disciplines (ex: African American studies) etc.
Where is the actual article?
The full text of some articles is available online via the Library's article databases. For other articles you'll need to find the physical library location and call number of the journal.
The easiest way to do this is to use the UC e-links feature which is available in many (not all) databases.
When you find an item you're interested in, click on the UC e-links icon, which will lead to links to full text if available, or else a link to the Next Generation MELVYL catalog. Click on the Next Generation MELVYL link to search for the library location of the journal.
Watch the UC e-links movie! (4 minutes). For assistance in reading a Next Generation MELVYL record for a journal title, go here or ask for assistance.