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There are a lot of different places to search for journal articles. However, each search option might have different strength for finding articles. Take a look at the chart below to compare some common search locations for journal articles.
| Library Catalogue | Google Scholar | Databases | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it finds | All articles available through Adler. | Many articles, but may include predatory journals, or other types of scholarly publications. | A reputable and curated collection of all articles in a discipline. |
| How it searches | By keyword and/or subject heading in a variety of fields | By keyword. | By keyword and/or subject heading in a wide variety of fields. |
| What it filters | Filter by resource type, subject, date, peer review, etc. | Filter by date, if it is a review article. | Filter by resource type, subject, date, peer review, methodology, population, etc. |
| Best use case | Great when you need to find a few articles to access immediately. | Great when you are looking for a specific article by title. | Great when you are looking for research gaps, and conducting literature reviews as you see everything on a topic. |
When we are looking for articles on a specific topic, the best way to search is using a database. Databases used for academic research are bibliographic databases. They are a useful research tool to find articles on a specific topic. Unlike Google, an algorithmic natural language search, bibliographic databases use keywords and/or subject headings to search through large indices of high-quality academic journals, with many filter options to easily narrow your results.
The instructions for how to use a database will depend on which database provider you are using. Usually we use OVID or EBSCOhost.
At Adler we have access to many databases. However, not all databases will be useful for your research subject. Databases broadly come in 2 types: multidisciplinary, and subject-specific.
Multidisciplinary databases cover a broad range of academic subjects. For example Academic Search Complete covers topics from business, to geography, and psychology. Multidisciplinary databases can be a great place to do preliminary searches on your topic, and when your topic covers multiple disciplines.
Covers wide range of disciplines, including sciences & humanities.
Subject-specific databases cover a variety of subjects, but all through the lens of one particular discipline. For example, APA PsycInfo is a psychology database, that also contains business and education topics, but through the lens of psychology.
Sometimes, if will be clearer what subject-specific databases you should use. If you are unsure, there is no harm in trying multiple databases and seeing which is returning the most relevant results.
Remember, we rarely use just one database for research.
Ovid option for psychology & mental health. Includes social sciences, medical, business, education, law.
Business, management, economics, finance, banking, accounting
The Educational Resource Information Center database provides access to education literature and resources.
U.S. National Library of Medicine® database indexing articles in life sciences, focus on biomedicine; indexed with NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH®).