Research Guides: WRTG 121: Finding Articles

What is a Scholarly Article?

Watch this video if you're new to academic research and want to understand the characteristics of a scholarly/academic/peer reviewed article.

Finding Scholarly Articles in eSearch

Please watch this short video on finding scholarly articles using eSearch before you begin searching! To find out more about what scholarly articles are, check out the video directly above this one.

Finding Articles Using Esearch

Finding Articles on a Variety of Subjects

Esearch is a good starting place when you're looking for articles, but if you find the list of results overwhelming, you can search in another database. You can look at our entire list of databases, or try one of the interdisciplinary databases listed below.

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
Find articles on a wide range of subjects, including peer-reviewed articles.
Access Tips: Also available via mel.org
ProQuest PowerSearch This link opens in a new window
Search over 20 academic databases at the same time.
Subjects: Covers many subjects
Info type: scholarly articles, professional articles, magazine articles, news articles, dissertations and theses
Brief How-To Video: ProQuest Basics
EBSCO PowerSearch This link opens in a new window
Cross-search 25 academic/traditional databases.
Subjects: Covers many subjects.
Info type: Scholarly articles, professional articles, magazine articles.
Google Scholar with EMU Full Text This link opens in a new window
Search for scholarly materials on any topic
Info type: scholarly articles, books, research reports, theses, working papers, cited sources
Access Tips: Use link above to get access to EMU subscriptions with Findtext+ links.
If this link does not work and you receive an error message from Google then use this alternate link to Google Scholar and also set your Google Scholar preferences to show EMU library access links.
Search Instruction: Google Scholar Video

Finding Articles on Current / Controversial Topics

Opposing ViewPoints This link opens in a new window
Easy way to research timely or controversial topics - abortion, immigration, climate change, etc.
Access Tips: Also available via mel.org
Points of View Reference Center This link opens in a new window
Presents multiple sides of an issue.
Access Tips: Also available via mel.org
CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
Examines controversial topics reported in the media
Subjects: Current, Newsworthy Issues (Political, Social, Economic, Environmental)
Info type: reports
Factiva This link opens in a new window
Large news database with lots of coverage, including The New York Times and The Washington Post.
**Only 6 users at a time, so if you don't get in, try later.

Frequently Used Subject-Specific Databases

ERIC This link opens in a new window
This is our most frequently used database for articles on all aspects of education--including K-12 education, college student life, college sports, etc.
ProQuest One Business This link opens in a new window
This is a great source to use if you're doing research related to businesses, customer-employee relationships, etc.
PsycINFO This link opens in a new window
This is a good place to look for articles related to psychology or human behavior.
CINAHL This link opens in a new window
This is our most frequently used database for articles related to nursing and other allied health professions.