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Finding Journals and Articles

A guide to finding journals and articles .

Finding Articles About a Topic

There are several ways to find articles on a topic:

  • Databases. Databases are like storage containers, and each database stores different information. You will need to find the databases that contain information about your specific topic before you can start searching. See the next section, Databases, for more details.
  • Web Search Engines. Search Engines, like Google and Google Scholar, are databases too. While they are familiar and easy to use, they have severe limitations when it comes to serious research. Find out more on our guide "Going Beyond Google."
  • Artificial Intelligence. There are several good artificial intelligence tools that can be used for finding articles. Most of them need to be "seeded" with at least one highly relevant article found using traditional techniques. They then use artificial intelligence to analyze the article and find other articles that are related in some way. For more information, see our guide "Artificial Intelligence."
  • Subject specialists. See the Subject Specialists section for details.
  • Subject Guides. The library's subject guides contain curated lists of databases and other resources selected by the specialist for that field. Subject guides are listed here.

Research Databases

All of the library's research databases are accessible from our fully searchable and filterable A to Z database list. There are three filters at the top of that page to help you select the most appropriate resources:

  1. Subject. Use this to select only those resources relevant to your subject area.
  2. Type. Use this to select only certain types of resources, like journal articles, books, videos, data, etc. Some of the most commonly used information types are:
    • Articles & Research Papers
    • Case Studies
    • Codes & Standards
    • Data & Datasets
    • Product Information & Specifications
  3. Vendor. Use this to select only free publicly accessible sources OR sources provided by a specific publisher.

Subject Specialists

Why consult a subject specialist?

You're not alone! Galvin Library has subject specialists for every major area of study.

These librarians order books, teach classes, and meet with students directly to help them find appropriate resources for their subjects.

Find your subject specialist and email them to make an appointment, or use this form.