Finding scholarly articles in the Social Sciences: Where do I find these articles?
First choice: EBSCOhost databases
The Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, and PsycARTICLES databases (all published by EbscoHost) include many scholarly articles.
- Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
(Ebsco) Periodical database. This multi-disciplinary database covers most disciplines taught at TCC. Most articles are scholarly. - CINAHL with Full Text This link opens in a new window
(Ebsco) The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health with Full Text provides access to over 600 journals from the fields of nursing and allied health. - PsycARTICLES This link opens in a new window
(Also known as APA PsycARTICLES).(Ebsco) Periodical database of peer-reviewed, scholarly, and scientific articles in psychology.
Search example:
Type your topic into the first one or two search boxes. Use the drop down menu to choose the ABSTRACT search field for all boxes. Click search.
Limit the results list by checking the "Academic Journals" limiter on the left side of the results page
You will still need to examine the individual articles looking for the characteristics listed under the "Definition & Description" tab to be sure of finding the right kind of article.
Are there other good databases?
Yes, the TCC Library has other databases that contain scholarly articles. Tell a librarian about your topic and we'll be happy to recommend what we think will be best for you.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Full text of a range of academic journal articles and primary sources. TCC's collection includes: "Archival Journal / Primary Source Collections." Good coverage of history, sociology, anthropology, literature, and economics. - ScienceDirect This link opens in a new window
A full-text database offering journal articles and book chapters from more than 2,500 peer-reviewed journals and 11,000 books, including reference works. (Tip: After searching for your topic, choose the "Refine by subscribed journals" feature on the results page to view the items you can access free of charge because you are a TCC student.)
Second choice: ProQuest databases
The ProQuest databases also include scholarly articles. There is a larger number and mix of article types in ProQuest, so you may need to look through a larger number of articles to find what you need.
- ProQuest Periodical Databases This link opens in a new window
Multiple periodical databases providing coverage of a wide range of topics, with a mix of popular and scholarly sources. Particularly good for current events.
Search example:
Click on ADVANCED SEARCH, then enter your search terms in one or two search boxes and results change the search field to "Abstract". You might also check the "peer-reviewed" box.
Limit your results:
Quite a bit further down the screen, limit the search as shown below:
As you look through your results, you will need to examine the characteristics of the individual articles to make certain they are what you need.
What about Google Scholar?
Google Scholar can be a good place to search for scholarly articles; however, Stanford University open resource expert, John Willinsky, estimates that only about 23% of articles are freely available.
If you like the search capabilities of Google, you might consider identifying your articles there and then checking with a librarian about how to get those that are not freely available.
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