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GEA2000 - World Geography - Lannon

Databases

When doing research, you may need to find journal articles to include in your paper. Journal articles allow you to find more narrow aspects of a topic, whereas books usually give you broad overviews. While the Library has some print journals located on the second floor, it is usually easier and more convenient to use online resources where you can search for your exact topic.

I Should Use Google to Find Articles, Right?

It's tempting to use Google to find journal articles. After all, it's easy, and Google has everything, right? Not really. Google can't access academic information and articles that are behind a paywall or require a subscription—these are part of the invisible web and make up approximately 96% of the Internet. Even if you do find articles, reading the full text usually requires payment. Library Databases are a much more reliable and easy way for you to find journal articles.

What Are Databases?

Databases are online resources accessed through the library website. They are subscription services, and the SF Library pays for students and faculty to have database access. Using a database will search millions of articles, found in thousands of journals, magazines, and newspapers. Databases can include journals in a certain subject field or discipline (subject-specific databases), while others are more general, searching through lots of journals from many different subjects.

Accessing Databases

The library databases are only available to Santa Fe students and employees. To access the databases, click the Databases link on the Library's home page. When you do this, you'll be prompted to log in.

If you need assistance logging in, please call the Reference Desk at 352-395-5409. The databases can also be accessed via eSantaFe.

A to Z the World (World Trade Press)

Access AtoZ the World  |  Video Tutorial  |  How to Cite

AtoZ the World is a good database to use to find information on countries. This database provides a broad range of information on 175 countries. Topics include business, culture, customs, food, health, religion, maps, etc.

Search Tips

Use the side menu to select a country.

Country guides sidebar

Then select the topic of interest related to that country.

AtoZ Maps Online

Access AtoZ Maps Online   |  How to Cite

Along with A-Z the world the library subscribes to AtoZ Maps Online. This database is a comprehensive collection of more than 100,000 downloadable maps. All included maps are royalty free for non-commercial use.

Academic Search Complete (EBSCO)

Access Academic Search Complete  |  Video Tutorial  |  How to Cite

A full text database covering many different disciplines and subject areas. A great place to start research on any topic.

Search Tips

Select Geographic Terms from the drop-down search menu to limit the search to a geographic country or region.

sreenshot with botswana in the first box and GE Geographic Terms selected from the pull-down menu

Be sure to limit your search to Scholarly (Peer-Reviewed) Journals.

JSTOR

Access JSTOR  |  Video Tutorial  |  How to Cite

Provides access to full text, academic journals in many fields, including geography.

Search Tips

On the JSTOR search screen, place a check in the box labeled "Articles" under Item Type.

Article selected under ITEM TYPE in NARROW BY section

Use the Narrow by Discipline option to limit results to specific subject areas such as Geography:

geography highlighted under NARROW BY DISCIPLINE

Academic OneFile (Gale)

Access Academic OneFile  |  Video Tutorial  |  How to Cite

Provides peer-reviewed, full-text articles from leading journals and reference sources. Includes coverage of the physical sciences, technology, medicine, social sciences, the arts, theology, literature and other subjects.

Search Tips

Choose Subject Guide Search. Then enter the name of your country or region into the subject guide search box and click search.

Subject Guide search with hong kong in the search box

This produces a list of subdivisions. Choose the topic you are interested in from this list.

First few subdivisions available for Hong Kong, starting with Accidents

 

Google Scholar

Google Scholar is a way to search for many different journal articles on a specific topic. However, it is important to note that the library databases will contain many more articles, and that not all articles you find in Google Scholar will be full text.

Setting Up Google Scholar

The following video tutorial will walk you through how to set up Google Scholar so that it will show you if an article in the search results is available in a library database. In the results list, look for items that are marked as Find it @ Santa Fe.

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
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