Research Guides: 🔎 Get Started with Library Research: Articles

Databases

When you're looking for articles, your "go-to" place will be Library Databases. These subscriptions provide free access to millions of credible newspaper, magazine and scholarly journal articles, as well as other formats including eBooks, audio files and videos. Temple subscribes to more than 1,000 databases covering all sorts of subjects.

To find articles in library databases, you can do a general library catalog search, which will find your keywords in all library resources. Another option is to search each library database directly. Sometimes searching a specific database can produce more targeted and relevant search results. Below are some recommended library databases for researching a broad range 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.

Search ALL Temple University library databases for articles:

After the search results load, use the "Resource type" filter on the left-hand side to limit the results to "Journal Articles", "Magazine Articles", "Newspaper Articles", or any other category that fits your needs.

HINT -Limit your search to "Peer-reviewed only" (in the "Availability" filter group) or by date of publication to further refine your results.

Or see a complete list of library Databases, covering all academic subjects.

What Are Databases?

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 original research which has been conducted by researchers with the intent to share their research with other experts. This is how researchers in academic fields share their findings to one another, and how scholarship continues to build on knowledge based on previous research.

How can I tell if an article is scholarly?

To determine if a journal is considered scholarly, determine 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 with Google Scholar, instead of from the library web site, to find freely available scholarly articles provided by the Temple University Library and the rest of 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.