Library databases and Google can't be searched the same way so take a few moments to come up with a search strategy before diving into a database.
Step 1: Think about the key concepts of your topic and search those instead of an entire phrases or sentences.
Step 2: Think of other terms you could use that are synonyms or related (they could be a broader or narrower aspect). This often requires that you do a little background research to learn more.
Step 3: Connect your terms using AND and OR:
Remember -
Features PDF content going back as far as 1865, with the majority of full text titles in native (searchable) PDF format. Searchable cited references are provided for 1,000 journals.
Use this link to access Google Scholar, and see our Google Scholar Guide for information on using this resource.
If you encounter a warning about the security certificate when using the FindIt@UT tool in Google Scholar, you can learn more about that using this guide.
Type of Tool | About | Start Here |
Multidisciplinary |
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Subject-specific |
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(use the "All Subjects" dropdown menu) |
If you don’t see a .pdf of the article you want, click Find it at UT to find it in another database or in print in the Libraries.
If it is only in print in the Libraries or we don’t own the article, click Get a Scan to have the article emailed to you.
You may be asked to look for peer-reviewed, research, scholarly, referred or academic articles - all names for the same type of source. What are they? These articles go through the peer-review process before they are published. A scholar/researcher/professor submits their article to a journal and it is sent to other experts in the field (peers) to ensure that they contain high-quality, original research important to the field. This is a measure of quality control other types of articles don't go through.
If you can't tell whether or not a journal is peer-reviewed, check Ulrichsweb.
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