How To Find A Journal Article

What Is A Journal Article?

A journal article:

• states the results of original research
• is written by scholars, scientists, or other experts
• is written for an audience of scholars, scientists, or other experts
• is peer-reviewed (or refereed)
• is published in a scholarly journal

What Is A Journal?

A journal:

• is an on-going publication
• may be issued: weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly, etc.
• may also be called a periodical or a serial

Scholarly journals are one of the primary methods used by scholars, scientists and other experts to exchange new information

Are Magazines and Journals the same?

Both magazines and journals are periodicals, but...

"Magazine" usually refers to popular titles written for the general public.

Examples of magazines include: Time, Newsweek, National Geographic, and Sports Illustrated.

"Journal" usually refers to peer-reviewed scholarly journals, written by experts for experts.

Examples of journals include: Science, Nature, Journal of the American Chemical Society, Applied Physics Letters, Engineering Geology, Journal of Applied Mechanics.

Example Of A Citation

After you conduct your search, you will see a list of citations to articles. It is important to know what information these citations are giving you. Below is a citation to a non-existent article (citations in most article databases will look similar to this):

Brown, C.   2003.   Why I Want A Dog For Christmas.   The Journal of Excellent Christmas Presents   3(10): 12-15.

Below, I use this made-up citation, to show what information each part of the citation is giving you:

How Do I Search For Journal Articles?

Use the PSE Subject Guides or the Main Library Subject Guides to find the best article database for your subject area.

NOTE: You **cannot** search for articles in the Harvest or Melvyl catalogs!

1. After clicking on PSE Subject Guides or the Main Library Subject Guides, select the discipline that best corresponds to your topic.
   
   Example: if your topic is bridge construction, choose the Civil Engineering Subject Guide.
2. After clicking on the appropriate Subject Guide, select one of the databases listed under "DATABASES AND INDEXES" (for the PSE Subject Guides) or "Subject-Specific Databases" (for Main Library Subject Guides).
   
   Example: If you want to find articles on bridge construction, use the Civil Engineering Subject Guide. Note that it describes the "Ei Compendex Plus" database as the "most comprehensive bibliographic database of engineering research literature" and the coverage goes back to 1970. This looks like a good place to start looking for articles on bridge construction.

Need help finding a database or conducting a search? Go to a Reference Desk.

How Do I Get A Copy Of The Article(s) I Want?

There are two ways to do this; either UC-eLinks or use the Harvest or Melvyl catalog.

Use UC-eLinks To Locate The Article (This is the easiest way!)

The UC-eLinks button appears in most article databases. After you have conducted a search you will see a list of citations. Use the article abstracts to decide which article(s) you want to get.

Once you have decided which article(s) you want, click on the UC-eLinks button adjacent to the citation. A new window will open with UC-eLinks information:

Fulltext available...

If the article is available electronically, you will see this link. Click on it to get to the electronic copy of the article (look for the PDF version). NOTE: If the article is not available electronically, the "Fulltext Available..." link will not appear in the UC-eLinks window.

See if your campus has this. Select the full record on MELVYL.

If the journal is not available electronically, click on this link (or the Harvest link below) to see if it is available in print. Because MELVYL lists records for all the UC's, you will need to determine if UC Davis owns the journal. If the journal is at UC Davis, write down: the call number, the library where the journal is kept, and the complete citation to the article. Then you can go to that library, locate the journal using the call number, and xerox the article.

Check for Location and Circulation Status in UC Davis Harvest Library Catalog.

If the journal is not available electronically, click on this link (or the MELVYL link above) to see if it is available in print. If the journal is at UC Davis, write down: the call number, the library where the journal is kept, and the complete citation to the article. Then you can go to that library, locate the journal using the call number, and xerox the article.

For additional help with UC-eLinks, see Getting Started with UC-eLinks or ask at any Reference Desk.

Use the HARVEST or MELVYL catalogs to locate the JOURNAL

If you have a complete citation, you can use the Harvest or MELVYL catalogs to find the article. Harvest is the catalog for UC Davis, MELVYL includes all the UC's. The basic steps for doing this are given below, ask at a Reference Desk if you need additional help.

Harvest Catalog (UC Davis only) Harvest Search Guide

Type the complete title of the journal (not the title of the article!) in the Keyword Search Box. Then select "JOURNAL/PERIODICAL TITLE WORDS" as your type of search, and click SUBMIT.

Ask at any Reference Desk if you need help finding a journal in Harvest or Melvyl.

MELVYL Catalog (All UC Campuses) MELVYL Basic Guide

From the basic search screen, select "JOURNAL TITLE" as your type of search, and type the title of the journal (not the title of the article!) in the adjacent Search Box, and click SEARCH.

Ask at any Reference Desk if you need help finding a journal in Harvest or Melvyl.

Off-Campus Access To Article Databases, Electronic Journals A-Z, & Other Library Resources

If you want to use article databases, or electronic journals, or other resources licensed by the library from off campus, there are 2 options:

• Option 1: Use the proxy server if you have a private internet service provider at home. See the instructions on How To Use The Proxy Server.
• Option 2: Use the campus modem pool if you DO NOT have a private internet service provider at home, and your computer has a modem. See the instructions on How To Use The Campus Modem Pool.
  Phone Numbers for the Campus Modem Pool are listed here.

Need More Help?

The quickest way to get help is to go to one of the library Reference Desks. The librarians working there will be happy to show you how to search a database, or find a journal, or answer any other questions you have.