Finding Articles
Databases are the first place to look for articles. Databases usually have information about an article (such as the title, author, name of the journal or magazine in which the article appeared) and they may also contain a summary (abstract) of the article.
Some databases have a complete copy of the articles (called full text). In this case there is a link to an HTML or PDF document.
For more information on finding articles, check out this page:
Interlibrary Loan
Find a journal we don't have at Mercyhurst? You can request articles and other materials through our Interlibrary Loan service provided by the Mercyhurst Libraries.
Interlibrary Loan
Our ILL service allows you to request articles, books, chapters from books, and conference proceedings to request from libraries all over the country. Choose the material you'd like to request, log in using your Name and Mercyhurst ID Number, then fill out the form as completly as possible and click 'Submit This Request'.
*Please check the library holdings before requesting materials through this service!
Google Scholar
Databases
Begin your search in these recommended databases:
- SocINDEX with Full TextSocINDEX with Full Text offers comprehensive coverage of sociology, encompassing all sub-disciplines and closely related areas of study.
- Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson)Social Sciences Full Text provides sources covering a wide array of subjects, including addiction studies, ethics, public welfare, urban studies and more.
- JSTORJSTOR offers high-quality, interdisciplinary content , including over eight hundred leading academic journals across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. We now offer 6 archival collections, along with current subscriptions to individual titles accessed through the JSTOR Scholarship Program’s platform for seamless access to the full run of the title.
- Academic Search UltimateContent include academic journals, magazines, periodicals, reports, books and videos which meets the needs of scholars in virtually every discipline ranging from astronomy, anthropology, biomedicine, engineering, health, law and literacy to mathematics, pharmacology, women’s studies, zoology and more. Full text is provided for over 10,000 peer-reviewed journals.
- PsycARTICLESFull-text, peer-reviewed scholarly and scientific articles in psychology. The database contains more than 178,000 articles more than 100 journals -- 48 published by the APA and 11 from allied organizations. Coverage spans 1894 to present.
- National Criminal Justice Reference ServiceNCJRS is a federally funded resource offering justice and substance abuse information to support research, policy, and program development worldwide.
- Nexis Uniprovides full text access to more than 45,000 legal, news and business sources.
- Opposing Viewpoints in ContextThe premier online resource covering today's hottest social issues, from capital punishment to immigration to marijuana. This cross-curricular research database supports science, social studies, current events, and language arts classes. Informed, differing views help learners develop critical-thinking skills and draw their own conclusions.
- Social Science Research NetworkThe SSRN eLibrary consists of two parts: an Abstract Database containing abstracts on over 395,400 scholarly working papers and forthcoming papers and an Electronic Paper Collection currently containing over 324,600 downloadable full text documents in Adobe Acrobat pdf format. The eLibrary also includes the research papers of a number of Fee Based Partner Publications.
Journals
Smart Search Tips
1. Break your topic into concepts.
e.g. The effect of diet on a person's
health:
Concept = Diet
Concept = Health
2. Consider alternative keywords:
diet, nutrition
health, wellbeing
3. Use truncation to search for variations of words:
infan* (infants,infantile, infancy)
child* (child, children,childhood)
4. Use AND to narrow the search:
diet AND health
nurs* AND best practice
5. Use OR to broaden the search:
diet OR nutrition
child* OR infan* OR toddler
6. Use quotation marks for phrases:
" pulmonary embolism"
" evidence based nursing"
7. Beware of differences between
English and American spelling
and terminology:
foetal/fetal
caesarean/cesarean
haemorrhage/hemorrhage
-
Searching using Boolean OperatorsThe Boolean search operators are AND, OR and NOT, and always in capital letters. Use these operators to create a very broad or very narrow search.Edith Cowan University
