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To find journal articles for your research topics, you will need to use a database. Databases index the contents of hundreds of journals, and contain hundreds of thousands of records that identify individual articles. Although databases are similar, be prepared for small variations.
When you click the database links below, you may be asked to enter your Unipass.
Imagine you are asked to find journal articles for a research essay using a database. Your topic is 'What are the key issues effecting relations between China and Taiwan?'
Typically a researcher will resolve their topic into keywords, which then are typed into the search box, seperated with an AND. A database search would look like this 'china and taiwan and relations'. Then click 'Search'...
...Too many results! Usually databases offer a Modify or Limit button that allow researchers to add another keyword, or you might just add '...and security' to the search string.
Your Search Results will be a list of articles that include all your search terms, somewhere in the record. Each database record will include, 1. the title of the article, 2. the author, 3. the name of the journal and year etc. (Together this information is called the citation). If the text of the article is available then a link will be evident for you to print, download or email the article.
(If the text is not available then you might find it via the SFX button that is near the citation. SFX will take you to a variety of resources that offer that particular article, so you can click SFX and follow the links...)
The Title of the article (and sometimes a link that says Complete record) when clicked, will display all the information about that article. This is called the Full Display of the record. It includes the Abstract, and live link Subject Headings.
The Abstract is a short description of the contents of the article and aids the researcher in the selection process.
The Subject Headings are clickable links that generate a Subject Search of all records in the database that share that term, which then a researcher may limit with another keyword. Often Subject Heading will give you the term the database prefers to use and also alerts researchers to relevant topics (or keywords) the researcher had not thought of.
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