Finding articles in journals, magazines & newspapers
Better than googling, use one of these online indexes to find journal, magazine or newspaper articles.
- Academic Search CompleteA good index for searching articles in journals, magazines & newspapers.
At the start of your search, change the database type from "Academic Search Complete" to include all of the EBSCO databases. - Environment CompleteIndex to articles on environmental policies and environmental science
- HealthSourceMedicine, nursing, and allied health
- World Wide Political Science Abstracts Worldwide Political Science Abstracts indexes the international serials literature in political science and its related fields, including international relations, law, and public administration / policy.
- ScopusA large abstract and citation database of research literature and quality web sources.
Assessment of Sources
Although a great deal of information is available via the internet for scholarly research, not all of that content is equally "good". Here "good" is related to things like the authority of the writer, the accuracy and currency of the information provided and the presence or absence editorial or peer review.
Because we use outside sources to support our own formal arguments and conclusions, it is critical that we evaluate the quality of those sources prior to use in our scholarly work.
Below you will find links to resources describing what to consider as you validate your sources. As you visit each of the websites indicated below, notice how attention to the same set of conceputal elements are described.
- Evaluating Information Found on the Internet from Johns Hopkins UniversityA concise and informative guide describing the key points of consideration for evaluating resources to be used in scholarly research.
- Skyline College Library Source EvaluationThis resource provides a list of criteria for evaluating online scholarly resources. This material is provided by Skyline College Library as prepared by Eric Brenner. It is linked to here with permission.
- Finding Information on the Internet Another guide describing questions to ask and points to ponder when vetting sources for scholarly research.
Finding Book Reviews
You will need to know: the author of the book, the title of the book and the original date of publication.
Books are often reprinted many times but are usually reviewed when first published.
There are two types of reviews:
1. descriptive (no opinions expressed, just descibe the content) often recognized by their brevity, less than one page
2. evaluative (give opinions, critiques of author and book) often several pages long.
The links below are to indexes that will include citations to reviews of general and popular works. For indexes in specific subject areas, see our individual subject guides.
- Academic Search Complete
A general index, covering from the early 1980s to present.
- Proquest Newspapers
A wide selection of current newspapers and backfiles.
- New York Times Book Review
The weekly Sunday book review magazine of the New York Times.
- Google Scholar
Less specialized, only free sources, but sometimes a "quick and dirty" starting place.
- Ladd Library Subject Guides
For sources of book reviews in individual subject areas.
Finding Biographical Information
To start finding biographical information, analyze what you already know.
1. Contemporary? Probably born within the last 100 years?
2. Nationality?
3. Profession? Scientist, journalist?
Google is a good starting point for discovering basic information.
Additional sources:
biographical profiles, feature articles, interviews, essays, book reviews, performance reviews, speeches, or obituaries of over 500,000 people and includes over 36,000 images.
Includes interviews, literary criticism, lists of book reviews
Pete Schlax Science and Data Librarian |
 Pete Schlax Links: Profile & Guides Subjects: Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Studies, Geology, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Physics |
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