11 How to find Academic Journal Articles

Using Google Scholar

Using a library database

Activity

In the “Academic Search Complete” database

Under “General/All Subjects” at left, click on “Academic Search Complete.”

Type keywords for your subtopic in the search bar.

Next to the Search Bar, under the “select a field” drop-down menu, select “subject terms.”

You may have to experiment to find the right keywords for your subtopic. Try to use the search terms that autocomplete if they are applicable to your subtopic.

At the left under “Limit to” click the box next to “Scholarly (peer-reviewed) journals.”

Be sure “Full Text” is also checked.

Below that, under publication date, type 2015-present year. (Experiment with dates to reduce or increase the number of search results.)

Skim the titles to find a source that sounds like it will work for your paper.

Read the Abstract to see what the article is about and decide whether it is relevant to your topic.

Click “PDF full text” to view. (usually)

Skim the article to find and read the relevant sections. For example, you don’t typically need to read about the Methodology of the study. Introduction, Analysis, and Conclusions are all important sections to read. Tables and graphs are typically helpful as well.

If you decide to use the source, click the cite button and cut/paste the citation into your annotated bibliography.

Licenses and Attribution

“How to find academic journal articles” by Jeff Sanger is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Library Search

How to use One Search in the library to find sources (video)