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History

How do I use library databases?

To access library databases off-campus, log in with your campus credentials; the same username and password combination used to access your student accounts.

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Finding Articles

For scholarly sources on general topics, search in a database related to your topic.

Scholarly Sources

Most research papers require the use of scholarly (academic) journal articles. 

A scholarly journal article:

  • is written by an identifiable author(s) with appropriate credentials (the author is an expert in the field)
  • includes a reference list/bibliography/works cited page
  • provides an in-depth treatment of the topic (at least 5-7 pages long, up to 20+ pages)
  • is academic and aimed at researchers (not the general public)
  • does not usually include photos or advertising
  • may be identified in library databases as "scholarly", "peer-reviewed", or "research articles"

Magazines, newspapers, and reference-type websites such as Wikipedia are not considered scholarly.

Most library databases include a search feature to limit results to "Scholarly/Peer-Reviewed" articles.