LibGuides: Engl102 Library Research Unit Guide for Students: How to find Articles

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Search these databases to find magazine and journal articles and more. The ones listed are often useful for research for English 102 essays, though many more subject-focused databases are available from the library's Articles page. Most databases are provided by subscription through the University of Idaho Library and many of the articles are available in full text.

Academic Search Premier, Communication and Mass Media, and Masterfile Premier (Ebsco)
These multidisciplinary databases provide access to a wide subject range of academic and some popular articles. Many, but not all, are available in full text.

CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
The CQ Researcher explores a single 'hot' issue in the news in depth each week. Topics range from social and teen issues to environment, health, education and science and technology.
There are 44 reports produced each year including four expanded reports. Every 12,000-word report is written by an experienced journalist and features comments from experts, lawmakers and citizens on all sides of every issue. Numerous charts, graphs and sidebar articles -- plus a pro-con feature, a chronology, lengthy bibliographies and a list of contacts -- round out each report.PDF files are available for full issues dating back to January 1996; for issues published since January 2001, PDF files are in color.
Nexis Uni - formerly Lexis-Nexis Academic This link opens in a new window
Containing more than 15,000 credible news, legal and business sources, Nexis Uni™ (formerly Lexis Nexis Academic) includes access to print and online journals, television and radio broadcasts, newswires and blogs, as well as local, regional, national and international newspapers, legal sources for federal and state cases and statutes, business information on U.S. and international companies and executives. For Business, LexisNexis features company and industry news, detailed company financial data, and includes major accounting journals. In Law, the database provides texts of federal and state court decisions, federal and state agency regulations, and law journal articles.
Click here to access Nexis Uni FAQs

Unlimited users
Opposing Viewpoints in Context This link opens in a new window
Multiple resources covering today's hot social issues, such as offshore drilling, health care and immigration explore issues from all perspectives.
Includes: * More than 14,000 pro/con viewpoint essays * 5,000+ topic overviews * More than 300 primary source documents * 300 biographies of social activists and reformers * More than 775 court-case overviews * 5 million periodical articles * Nearly 6,000 statistical tables, charts and graphs * Nearly 70,000 images and a link to Google Image Search * Thousands of podcasts, including weekly presidential addresses and premier NPR programs * A national and state curriculum standards search, correlated to the content that allows educators to quickly identify material by grade and discipline New reference content is added on an ongoing basis, and new full-text periodical and newspaper articles are added every day.

What is Peer Review?

Peer-reviewed articles (also know as refereed) go through a process where they are analyzed by experts in a field before publication.

articles are examined to evaluate the quality of research
reviewers decide if the article adds to the content of the field

Articles can be scholarly (written and published for an academic audience), yet not go through the peer-review process.

Is my Article Peer Reviewed?

1. Check if your journal is peer reviewed

Search for your title in Ulrich's Global Serials Directory
When you find your journal, look for a "referee shirt" symbol. The symbol will appear next to any journal title that is peer reviewed and/or refereed (interchangeable terms).

2. If the journal is peer reviewed, then assess the article

Is it a full research article? If your article is a short news brief, an editorial, a letter to the editor, or a re-print of a conference proceeding, it is not peer reviewed.

While some databases include the full text of articles, others only provide citations. Citations may include the Find It link to help you find full text through other sources.

When an article in a database does not include full text, click on the "Find It" link:

Find It icon

You may be redirected to the article, to the library catalog, or to interlibrary loan.

Below is an example of an article that is available online. Clicking on one of the links after "Full text available at" will take you to the article.

Image from the library catalog of the green "fulltext available" link

Image of the "Full text available at" link

If you have any problems, ask a librarian for help.

Pew Trusts
Pew Charitable Trusts support research on a variety of social economic and political topics. This site can lead to reports of their research.
American Factfinder
Find demographic information using the US Census and American Community Survey.
USA.gov
Get services, explore topics, find government agencies, and contact the government.

Want to use Google Scholar to find articles?

Go to the Settings section of GoogleScholar and scroll down to "Library Links". Type "University of Idaho" in the search box, and select both "University of Idaho-U Idaho 360 Link" and "Open WorldCat-Library Search". Scroll down and save changes. This will allow Google Scholar to cross-check some of our subscriptions and give you full-text access with your UI log-in.

Research Guides

Engl102 Library Research Unit Guide for Students

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Want to use Google Scholar to find articles?