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Argument & Debate Databases:
News Databases:
General Databases:
Philosophy & Religion Databases:
Off-Campus Access
Other Options:
Also on reserve at main circulation desk
Find materials in libraries worldwide Request items not available at CNU via the Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service (link below)
Is the full-text not available?
It may be available in print, in a different database, or at another library.
Search for the Title of the journal (or ISSN) in which the article is located to see if it is available or search by Subject to see what journals focus on a specific topic. If a journal article is not available full-text through any of our resources, fill out an Interlibrary Loan (ILL) request.
Key Points for Evaluation
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Purpose of Article: Why was the article written? To:
Type of Journal: For college-level term papers, information should be obtained mostly from scholarly journals.
Organization and Content: Is the material organized and focused? Is the argument or presentation understandable? Is this original research, a review of previous research, or an informative piece? Bias (of the publisher): Some publications have an inherent bias that will impact articles printed in them. Is the journal:
Date of Article: Some topics, such as those in the health sciences, require current information. Other subjects, such as geology, value older material as well as current. Know the time needs of your topic and examine the timeliness of the article; is it:
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Bibliography: Scholarly works always contain a bibliography of the resources that were consulted. The references in this list should be in sufficient quantity and be appropriate for the content. Look for:
Usefulness: Is the article relevant to the current research project? A well-researched, well-written, etc. article is not going to be helpful if it does not address the topic at hand. Ask, "is this article useful to me?" If it is a useful article, does it:
Authority: Is the author an expert in this field? Where is the author employed? What else has he/she written? Has he/she won awards or honors? Coverage: Does the article cover the topic comprehensively, partially, or is it an overview? Audience: For what type of reader is the author writing? This ties in with the type of journal, as popular magazine are geared to the general reader, while trade magazines are for the specialist and scholarly journals are directed at researchers, scholars or experts in the field. Is the article for:
Context: Information is contextual. Who, what, when, where, why, and how will impact whether or not a resource is useful to you. If you are doing a survey of popular culture, for example, popular magazines would be a useful primary source. |
