How to Use the Library

Scholarly articles are the main medium for academic discourse. Articles published in journals or periodicals are how scholars and experts communicate with each other about what's happening in their field—what new discoveries have been made, who is developing new questions and ideas, and how this emerging knowledge might affect the broader public.

Many scholarly journals only publish articles that are "peer-reviewed," meaning that they have been rigorously reviewed and revised by a team of anonymous experts in the field who vouch for the article's quality. All articles and research projects have their own limitations, but you can trust that a peer-reviewed article in a scholarly journal that you find through an academic database will be at home in your own academic writing.

Journals and periodicals usually go to print several times a year, so they often include more recent information than books (which take longer to publish). This makes journal articles a great source of information for your own research, helping ensure that your own scholarly writing is up-to-date and relevant.

Databases give you access to many different types of articles, from those published in scholarly journals to magazines and newspapers. The Gellert Library subscribes to both general databases (which search through publications from many different disciplines) and subject-specific databases (which search journals in specific fields like psychology or education). 

You can start any search for articles by using DISCOVERY on the library's home page. DISCOVERY searches four general databases that collect a broad range of scholarly publications, including journal articles. For in-depth and comprehensive research for relevant journal articles, there are two main approaches you can take.

• Use the Advanced Search tool to search multiple databases at once. 
  • Review this page for instructions on Advanced Search, including how to select databases for search.
• Search one subject-specific database at a time.
  • You can choose a database from NDNU's databases by subject list, or from the library's subject guides that recommend databases and other resources according to specific subject areas.
  • Each database has a different interface, with a different look and feel. The default search for most databases is the general keyword search, but you can also search by author, article title journal, name, and subject heading, to name a few. Just use the drop-down menu to select the field. The drop-down boxes menus next to the search boxes allow you to use Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) for even more control. 
    

With either strategy, it's a good idea to limit your searches with the following filters: "peer-reviewed," "full-text," and "held by Notre Dame de Namur University." Searches using these filters will only return high-quality publications that you can read in full, immediately.