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 Article Databases
Sample searches in ProQuest Social Science databases:
Library home > Articles > Article Databases by Subject > Ethnic Studies > ProQuest 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* (all fields + text)
media (all fields + text)
representation* or image* or stereotyp* (all fields + text)
(add a row)
single parent* or single mother* or single father* (all fields + text)
check off "peer reviewed" to limit to peer reviewed journals
* = truncation symbol or wildcard; child* = child, childs, children, childish, childhood
keywords = searches most important parts of the record
an alternative:
african american* or black* (all fields + text)
media (all fields + text)
representation* or image* or stereotyp* (all fields + text)
family or families (all fields + text)
if results are too broad, don't search full text:
african american* or black* (all fields (no full text))
media (all fields (no full text))
representation* or image* or stereotyp* (all fields (no full text))
family or families (all fields (no full text))
2. search using official subject terms ("descriptors")
latino* or mexican american* (keywords)
recidivis* (descriptor)
3. another example:
native american* or indian* (all fields + text)
reservation* (all fields + text)
environment* (all fields + text)
change your terms if they're TOO broad
native american* or indian* (all fields + text)
reservation* (all fields + text)
environmental* (all fields + text)
Sample searches in Ethnic NewsWatch:
Library home > Articles > Article Databases by Subject > Ethnic Studies > Ethnic NewsWatch
"day labor*" (all fields + text )
gender or famil* (all fields + text)
ethnic group: Hispanic
(note: ethnic group refers to the selection of the newspaper)