LibGuides: FTS: A Matter of Curiosity: Finding Articles

General Databases

Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window
A good place to start research on most any subject. This multi-disciplinary database indexes nearly 8,050 publications and provides full text for nearly 4,600, including more than 3,900 peer-reviewed journals. Access is provided by eLibraryMN (ELM).
Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
This search engine points toward scholarly research rather than all Web-based sources. It is stronger in the sciences than in the humanities, with social sciences somewhere in between. One interesting feature of Google Scholar is that in includes a link to sources that cite a particular item. Not all of the articles in Google Scholar are free; the library can obtain many of them for you through Interlibrary loan.

Finding the Actual Articles

Once you've identified an interesting article, look to see if the full text is there. If not, follow these steps:

Click the yellow "find it!" button, which will search to see if it is full text in another database or in the library's print collection.
If it is full text in another database, click the links to get to the article itself. Note: the systems don't always talk to each other perfectly. Sometimes the links go to the wrong places. If this is the case, contact a librarian. We are happy to help you track it down.
If the article is full text in print, take a field trip to the bottom floor of the library. Print journals are shelved alphabetically by title of the journal. Find the section containing your journal and then track down the article using the date/volume information. With the exception of the most recent issue of some popular magazines, you may check magazines and journals out for a week.

If an article is not available in full text or in print, request it through interlibrary loan, using your Gustavus account login to identify yourself. This generally means it will be scanned in for you at another library. An e-mail message will be sent to you with a URL and pin number to retrieve it. Though these scanned articles are sometimes are available within 24 hours, they can take longer. Plan ahead.

Sometimes you come across a footnote with an article that looks interesting. You don't need to turn to a database to find it. Check the title of the magazine or journal (not the article title) from the journal locator. If it is not available to us at Gustavus, log in to your library account and fill out an interlibrary loan request.

As you can see, tracking down the hard copies of materials can be tricky! Need help? Contact a librarian!

Subject-Specific Databases

Below are a few examples of subject-specific databases. For more, visit our Research Guides by subject.

Biological Science This link opens in a new window
Covers research in all areas of biological science, including animal behavior, biomedicine, zoology, ecology, and others. Coverage is from 1982 to the present. Includes abstracts and citations, as well as access to thousands of full text titles.
PsycINFO This link opens in a new window
Citations and abstracts to articles from more than 1300 international journals in psychology and related fields, going back to 1840. Covers all areas of psychology, including experimental, developmental, communications, social processes and issues, personality, physical and psychological disorders, professional issues, applied psychology, educational psychology, and behavioral literature in such related fields as law, business and medicine. Also includes citations for books and chapters.
PubMed (citations from MEDLINE and other sources) This link opens in a new window
PubMed contains more than 30 million citations and abstracts of biomedical literature. Click the "Find it at Gustavus" button to link to the full text or to make an interlibrary loan request. PubMed was developed and is maintained by the National Institutes of Health.
Science Reference Center This link opens in a new window
Full text for nearly 640 science encyclopedias, reference books, and journals. Topics covered include: biology, chemistry, earth & space science, environmental science, health & medicine, history of science, life science, physics, science & society, science as inquiry, scientists, technology and wildlife. Access is provided by eLibraryMN (ELM).

Scientific Journalism Magazines

American Scientist
Online (ASP) 2002-present; in print 1942-2016
Discover
Online (ASP) 2001-present; in print 1991-2016
National Geographic
Online (ASP) 1995-present (3 month embargo); in print 1960-present
New Scientist
Online (ASP) 2002-present (1 month embargo); in print 1974-present
Popular Science
Online (ASP) 2002-present (1 year embargo); in print 1946-2016
Science News
Online (ASP) 1975-present
Scientific American
Online (ASP) 2007-present; in print 1929-2009
Scientific American Mind
Online (ASP) 2004-present
Smithsonian
Online (ASP) 1990-present; in print 1970-2016

Academic Search Premier covers not only academic journals but also popular magazines, including the scientific journalism magazines listed below. They can be useful sources since they're usually more concise than articles in academic journals and use less technical language.