Mechanical Engineering Technology

Searching for Articles

Scholarly articles are published in journals and trade magazines. Databases are collections of different journals that can be searched to find articles about your research topic. 

How to Search for Articles in Databases

1. Select a Database from those provided on this guide or on the Library's Databases List.

2. Selecting keywords 

• Limit your search terms to the main concepts of your search. 
  Example research topic: How are polymers used to prevent cracking in airplane windshields? 
  Keywords: polymers airplane windshield

3. Boolean search strategies and wildcards

• ​Use the OR boolean to expand your search. This works well with synonyms. 
• Use the AND boolean to add terms narrowing your search [AND is usually a default when entering search terms and does not need to be entered]. 
• Use the NOT boolean to remove articles containing a term from your search results. 
  Example: polymers AND (airplane OR aircraft) AND windshield NOT car
• Use quotation marks to look for terms exactly as written, in order. Note: This can be very limiting. 
  Example: "polymer coating"
• Use the asterisk (star symbol) to search for a prefix with any ending. 
  Example: polym* will look for: polymer, polymers, polymeric, polymerase, polymorphic, polymorphism, etc. 

4. Using filters and facets

• Use the advanced search options or filters on the results page to limit your search by discipline, year, author, etc. 

How to Access Articles at EMU

Once you have located a title from a database you will have to access the full-text to read the complete article. To access the full text: 

1. Look for a link to the PDF from the article page

2. If no PDF link appears or is behind a paywall, look for the EMU FindText+ button/link. Click the link and check the record to see if an electronic or print version of the article is available. If the article is not available, click "Request this item." Complete the form to request through interlibrary loan. 

3. If no EMU FindText+ button is available, manually request through interlibrary loan (instructions here).
   Tip: Try searching for the article title in Google Scholar. You may be able to locate a freely available pdf, or get access to the EMU FindText+ link. 

Visit the library guide for more information on how to access articles.

Try your search in the databases below, organized by subject.