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How do I find scholarly, peer-reviewed, academic articles and books in the library?

by David Davisson on 2023-01-18T14:44:02-05:00 | 0 Comments

If you have a research project this semester you might have to hunt down scholarly articles and books. Very often this sort of material is not available on the open internet, so a Google search won't find it. You can get a head start by reviewing our Introduction to Library Research guide. Below are some useful tips.

Keep in mind you can also contact librarians for assistance through the chat function on the library's webpages, or stop by the library and speak with a librarian. Our reference hours this semester are --

M/T: 9-9
W/Th:9-6
F:10-5
Sunday: 11-7

BOOKS ARTICLES

1) Look for books in the catalog

The library catalog searches books and articles at the same time. Search the box on the library homepage, then click under Content Type --> "Book/eBook."

1) Look for articles in the catalog

The library catalog searches books and articles at the same time. Search the box on the library homepage. Click under Content Type --> "Journal Article" or "Newspaper article" depending upon what you need. You can also refine by "Peer-Reviewed."

2) Check the Table of Contents and Index for key terms and concepts

Books are typically more comprehensive than scholarly articles, and there is usually a good chapter, essay, or even the introduction of a book that will be helpful to your research. 

2) Check subject headings and abstract for key terms and concepts

Always check the subject headings and read the abstract of an article to get a better understanding of what the thesis is.

3) Follow the bibliographic trails

Use the citations, also called the Bibliography/ Reference List/ Works Cited at the end of a book to locate more books or articles on your topic.

3) Follow the bibliographic trails

Use the citations, also called the Bibliography/ Reference List/ Works Cited at the bottom of an article to locate more books and articles on your topic.

4) Browse the shelf

Academic libraries use the Library of Congress Classification System. This alphanumeric organization clusters similar materials together. The perfect book may be on the shelf so take a moment to look around.

4) Use different sets of keywords to get new results

The words we use to search matters. Try more scholarly or different terminology to find the most relevant articles. Ask a librarian if you need help with this step.

5) Interlibrary Loan

If you can't find a particular book in this library, Interlibrary Loan it, and we can get it for you from another library. To see which library has the book, visit Worldcat.org. If it is in the Hillsborough Public Library system, sign up for a free library card to access their collection.

5) Interlibrary Loan

If you can't find the full-text of an article in this library, Interlibrary Loan it, and we can get it for you from another library.

 


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