- Choose and use the best article databases
Choose: Article databases list citations (and sometimes full-text)
to articles. There are specialized databases for various disciplines. To find
the most useful databases for your topic choose the Resources
by Subject link on the UW Libraries Homepage.
Under each subject you will find links to the most important databases for
that subject plus a list of web sites and other related resources.
If you would like more advice on researching your topic, contact the subject
librarian for the discipline.
Use: To learn how to search databases, use the online library
tutorial, Research 101. The Searching
section of the tutorial will teach you search strategies that apply
to most databases.
For more information about searching databases see:
- Individual database's online help
If you have questions about searching, contact
a librarian.
- Read an article citation
An article citation includes the author, article title, journal name, volume,
publication date and pages. Some databases also include holdings information
with the UW Libraries locations and call numbers or links to an electronic
version of the article.
In order to discover if the UW Libraries owns a copy of the journal (when
there is no holdings information), you will need to have the journal name,
volume number and pages.
For more information on deciphering citations see: Reading
Citations on Research 101
- Locate a journal
To find out if the UW Libraries has a subscription to the journal you need
to search for the journal title in the UW
Libraries Catalog. Choose the Title search option, type in the journal
title, and choose Journals from the next pull-down menu. When you get a list
of journal titles, click on the title that matches the one you want. You may
need to browse through some titles to get to the one you need. If the journal
is available electronically there will be a link to the e-journal. Note the
library location and call number, then go to the library indicated. Each library
in the UW system has maps and signs showing where call numbers are located
on the shelves.
Each library in the UW system has maps and signs showing where call numbers
are located on the shelves. Two useful handouts are:
If you have questions about locating a journal, ask at any library desk.
- Find full-text articles
Some databases include a selection of full-text articles. Two general databases
that include full-text are:
Many electronic journal packages also allow article searching. See for example
Many other databases and electronic journal packages have full-text articles.
Ask a librarian for suggestions, or view Resources by
Subject and look under your subject to find relevant databases. You can
also find full-text articles by browsing the list
of E-Journals .
- Find book reviews
There are many indexes and databases that will lead you to book reviews. To
find reviews you will need the title of the book and the approximate year
of publication. For reviews in magazines and journals, try searching online
databases such as:
Other sources of book reviews include:
For reviews in newspapers such as the New York Times, try searching 
Lexis-Nexis.
For reviews of older books (published prior to about 1985) use printed indexes
such as Book Review Index and Book Review Digest that are
located in Suzzallo Reference (first floor Suzzallo
Library).
For additional information and sources of book reviews see this Finding
Book Reviews guide. If you have questions about finding book reviews,
contact a librarian.
- Identify scholarly journals
Scholarly journals tend to be in-depth research reports or analyses written
for a specialized academic or scientific audience. Most are refereed or peer-reviewed
meaning that they have been vetted as accurate by other specialists prior
to publication. Some typical characteristics of scholarly journals are:
- Articles are written by professors and researchers in specific disciplines.
- Articles are lengthy and usually include copious endnotes, footnotes
or bibliography.
- Articles use technical language or jargon, not every day language.
For further information on distinguishing popular magazines from scholarly
articles see:
If you are unsure whether you have a citation for a scholarly journal article,
search for the journal in
Ulrich's Periodicals Directory,
a directory of journals and magazines. The entry for the journal will list
if it is peer-reviewed.
If you have questions about a journal, contact
a librarian.
- Get articles not at UW
If the UW does not own the journal you will need to use interlibrary loan.
- Non-health sciences students, staff and faculty (includes all Bothell
and Tacoma students):
- Health sciences students, staff and faculty (includes Social Work):
If you have questions, contact a librarian.
- Find newspaper articles
The UW Libraries subscribes to a number of newspaper databases. To find current
newspaper articles search the following databases.
For a complete listing of newspaper databases see Finding
News Articles. For more information about using newspapers for your research
see Microform and Newspaper Collections.
If you have questions about finding newspaper articles, contact
a librarian.
- Cite articles and other sources
Citation styles vary by discipline. Some common styles include:
You can use RefWorks and Endnote Web to import citations and create bibliographies.
