Research Guides: TUJ Library Research Guide: Find Articles

Databases

When you're looking for credible information, your "go-to" place are Library Databases.
These subscriptions provide access to millions of newspaper, magazine and scholarly journal articles, as well as other formats including eBooks, audio files and videos. Temple subscribes to a vast number of databases covering all subjects, which you can access for free!

To find Articles in library databases, you can do a general Library Search, which will find your keywords in all library resources (millions of them!). Another option is to search each library databases directly. Sometimes searching a specific database can produce more targeted and relevant search results. Below are some recommended library databases for researching a majority of topics.

EbscoHost Research Databases This link opens in a new window
EbscoHost Research Databases provides access to various databases indexing journals and other scholarly publications, some with full text.
Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new window
Provides information on various social issues, including pro and con articles, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, links to websites, and full-text magazine and newspaper articles.
ProQuest Central This link opens in a new window
ProQuest Central includes thousands of full-text scholarly journals, trade and professional titles, newspapers, magazines, dissertations, working papers, case studies, and market reports across all major subject areas.

* See the complete list of library Databases, covering all academic subjects

What Are Databases?

Library Search

Search ALL Temple University library databases for articles:

HINT - On the results screen, limit your search results to "peer reviewed" (scholarly), by resource type (i.e. magazine, newspaper, or journal article), or by date of publication.

What Is a Scholarly Source?

Sometimes your instructor will require that you find a scholarly journal article. What is this and how do you know if you've found one?

Scholarly sources are research articles published in scholarly journals. These articles report on original research conducted by researchers, who are sharing their research with other experts. This is how researchers in academic fields share their findings to one another, and how they build knowledge based on previous research.

How Can I Tell If an Article is Scholarly?

To determine if a journal is considered scholarly, look for whether:

It is published or sponsored by a professional society or association
Includes a list of reviewers or editorial board members
Describes the journal's review process

Peer Review

Research articles published in scholarly journals are peer-reviewed, or refereed. Peer-review is a rigorous process where articles are evaluated by a panel of experts in the field (peers in the author's field).

Pro Research Tip

Search Temple’s databases from Google Scholar, instead of from the library web site, to find freely available scholarly articles available via the Temple University library and the internet. Just follow these Google Scholar Set-up Instructions, then enter your key words in the Google Scholar search box.

Look for articles that say Temple U next to them. These are the articles that only you (as a Temple student) can access for free.
Other sources that say PDF, or similar, on the right side of the article are full text articles that anyone can access for free.
Some sources will not show anything on the right of the article. Those are typically not available in full text for free.
Do not pay to access these! if you really think you need to article, contact the library to see if they can find a free version for you.