LibGuides: *Research 101: Finding Articles

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Databases

Library databases contain thousands of sources for you to search. Databases have different types of sources, mostly journal or magazine articles, but some databases provide multimedia such as videos or images.

Articles will provide very targeted information, usually focusing on one small segment of a topic. Articles also tend to be more recent. Newspaper and magazine articles can be updated within days or weeks of an event, while academic journal articles may take a few months or longer.

You may access the online databases from our Databases list (click Databases on the library website).

Once you choose a database, you will need to log in.

Accessing Library Databases from Lawrence W. Tyree Library on Vimeo.

Hello! This video tutorial will demonstrate how to access library databases at Santa Fe College to locate articles and other subscription content.

Databases are subscription search tools that help you locate content, usually articles. Using databases to find articles has many advantages, such as more search options and full-text results.

To access library databases and read articles, click the gray Databases button on the library website.

You may also access the Library Databases link through eSantaFe under Tutoring & Support or through eStaff under Additional Information.

The database list can be navigated several different ways. First, there is a list of Recommended Databases. These are databases that are frequently used and are good places to begin your research.

If you know the name of a database, you can find it alphabetically in the main list. Scroll through the list or use the linked letter shortcuts to jump to a section.

You can also limit databases by subject by clicking the All Subjects drop-down and choosing a relevant subject category. This will limit to subject-specific databases that are more likely to contain relevant articles for a specific topic.

In a subject category, pay attention to the databases in the Best Bets! area. These databases are recommended by the librarians as the most useful and relevant.

While most library databases mainly contain articles, some contain eBooks or multimedia such as videos or artwork.

When you have located a database, click the title to access it. Many databases will also include links to a tutorial and instructions on how to cite content within the database.

To log in, your username is your SF ID number @sfcollege.edu. On the next screen, enter your college password. You might not see this screen if you are logged into Office 365 elsewhere.

This concludes the video tutorial on accessing library databases. If you have any questions, please contact a librarian:

352-395-5409
reference@sfcollege.edu
Building Y, NW Campus
sfcollege.edu/library

Recommended Databases

The Library has more than 90 databases you can use, but how do you know which one is best for your research needs? When you log in to the database listings, you can see a few different pages. Look to the left of the databases page to view our Recommended Databases. These are the top databases recommended by librarians and most used by students.

Academic Search Complete , the first database listed, is usually a great database to begin your research.

Recommended Databases area

Subject List

Unless you know the exact name of the database you want to use, pick one of the Subjects in the first drop-down in the gold bar to see the best databases for your search. Look for a subject category that encompasses your topic (such as Business or Science & Technology). Relevant databases will be listed within each subject category.

Subject listing

General Recommendations

Depending on your class or topic, these are some of the best databases to begin your research:

General: Academic Search Complete (good for most topics)
Business: Business Source Complete
Criminal Justice: Criminal Justice Database
Education: Education Source
Environment: GreenFILE
History: History Reference Center
Humanities & Fine Arts: JSTOR
Medicine: Health and Wellness
Psychology: APA PsycArticles
Social Sciences: JSTOR
Technology: Applied Science & Technology Source

Many of the databases will have a way for you to limit to peer-reviewed articles. These are articles that are more scholarly and academic, and have undergone a rigorous review process before being published.

Look for a checkbox on the search screen that says scholarly, peer-reviewed, or academic.

Once you have found a relevant journal article, you will need to read it. Peer reviewed articles, especially, can be intimidating to read. Here are some resources to help you learn how to approach reading an article.

Linking to Database Content

You are able to save or share links to articles from databases for later use. However, you need to make sure the link is formatted correctly so it will prompt you to log in through Santa Fe College. Otherwise, you will be unable to access the full text later.

Copy and paste a link from the browser bar in the following link corrector. The corrected link should prompt you to log in with your Office 365 account.

Google Scholar

Google Scholar allows you to search for scholarly articles that have been indexed by Google. By default, most articles in Google Scholar do not have the full text available. To increase the full-text results, set up Google Scholar to connect to Santa Fe College's database and journal holdings.

Click the three-line icon in the upper left (also called the 'hamburger' menu).
Click the Settings link; this may be under the More menu.
Click Library links in the menu.
Search for Santa Fe College - Find it @ Santa Fe, add a checkmark, and save it.

Only articles with a link in the right column will have their full text available. Find it @ Santa Fe means the full text is in a library database.

You may be prompted to log in with your Office 365 account when clicking the Find it @ Santa Fe link.

If you need access to an article that does not have the full text available, you may request a copy through interlibrary loan.

Research is not done in a vacuum. Research articles will build upon previous work, which allows you to follow a timeline of research.

If you find an article that you like, look at that article's references/citations. You may find more articles that are similar in their research goals and that could be useful. You can then use Google Scholar to locate the full text. For instance, here is a citation of an article about Henrietta Lacks.

Robert D. Truog, Aaron Kesselheim, Steven Joffe, "Paying Patients for Their Tissue: The Legacy of Henrietta Lacks," Science 337, 2012: 37-38.

Input the article title in the Google Scholar search box (be sure that you have already set up your Library Links to connect to Santa Fe College). You may need to add in more information, such as author names, if there are too many irrelevant search results.

Look to the right for the full text links. If there is no full text available, you may place an Interlibrary Loan request.

You may also move forward within the research. In Google Scholar, it will tell you how many articles have cited the article you are looking at. In this case, the article "Paying Patients for Their Tissue" has been cited 62 times.

"Cited by" link highlighted

Click that Cited by link to see the articles that have cited this article, along with full text links as needed.

Google Scholar from Lawrence W. Tyree Library on Vimeo.

Hello! This video tutorial will demonstrate how to use Google Scholar and how to link database holdings.

Google Scholar is a subset of Google that allows you to search for scholarly information, including articles, scholarly books, and other types of publications. Not everything indexed in Google Scholar has the full text available. However, you can increase your full-text results by adding Santa Fe College as your library. To access Google Scholar, go to scholar.google.com.

At the top left of the page, click the icon with three horizontal lines, and then choose Settings.

On the next screen, click Library links.

On the Library links page, type Santa Fe College in the search box, and press the Enter key. In the resulting list, select Santa Fe College – Find it @ Santa Fe, and then click Save.

Saving your settings takes you back to the Google Scholar search screen. Enter your search in the box provided.

The results list displays matching articles and more. If you see a Find it @ Santa Fe link to the right of an article, the Tyree Library has access to that article. Click the Find it @ Santa Fe link.

Once you click the link, you may be prompted to sign using your Office 365 account. You might not see this screen if you are logged in elsewhere to Canvas or your Office 365 email.

You may be taken directly to the full text of the article or to an intermediary page. On this page, look at the View Online section to see the full text links.

Article options will vary, depending on the database it is part of. All articles should provide the full text.

Articles with other links in the far-right column are freely available online. As with any link to a file found online, be cautious. If you do not recognize the source of the link, you probably should not click it. Instead, contact a librarian for assistance.

If an article does not have a link in the right column, the full text is not currently available. To request a full-text copy of the article, click the double arrows icon.

Next, click the Request it link.

If you are not already signed in, click the Sign in link.

Choose Office 365 and log in with your Office 365 account.

Now you will see the option for an interlibrary loan request. This is the process of requesting that the Library obtain an item for you, which is free.

Fill out your information in the top part of the form. The bottom half should already be filled in with the article information, but you should double check before you submit. Articles are usually available within a week.

This concludes the video tutorial on using Google Scholar. If you have any questions, please contact a librarian:

352-395-5409
reference@sfcollege.edu
Building Y, NW Campus
sfcollege.edu/library