Journal Articles can be found in the Stetson’s Library by searching through its databases.
A database is a search tool (similar to a search engine) that contains citations to journal articles (although, sometimes other materials/article types can be found within the database).
You should start your search on the Library’s homepage. Choose “Databases” from several locations. You will see an option to search databases by subject or alphabetically A-Z. You can choose a general database, such as Academic Search Complete or ProQuest Complete or a specific database that matches your topic.
Once here, scroll through the list of databases or use the pull-down menu to narrow your search to one of the specific subjects listed. Then choose the database you would like to search, and click on the link.
Whatever database you choose, your next step is to type your "search terms" in the boxes and hit Search.
Enter your "search terms" as a Boolean style search (which means do not type in a phrase or question). For example, type in "human rights" AND "social justice," or other keywords that describe your topic. Think of keywords as the most important concepts in a research question or topic. It is helpful to simplify your "search terms" as much as possible to the main ideas of your topic.
However, if you get too many results, you can narrow your search down, by adding additional search terms.
Once you have your results, it is helpful to limit your search by "relevance," usually found at the top of the results page.
In examining your results, clicking on the Title link will bring you to the full record. The full record provides additional information about the article, including:
- the abstract (summary of the article)
- information about the author/s
- the source or journal the article came from
- citation information (author's name, title of the article, title of the periodical/journal that contains the article, including the date of publication, volume and issue number, and page numbers)
To view the FULL-TEXT for the article, look for a link that says full text (either HTML or PDF). Clicking on either of these links will bring you to the complete text of the article.
However, if you need additional help, please feel free to ask any questions at the Main Desk and they will direct you to the librarians.
