Marc Pugliese - Theology and Religion LibGuide: Journal Articles & Online Databases

• Start with a couple of terms
  
• Review the article for additional terms
  
• Try several databases

Cannon Print Periodical List (Alphabetical listing of all print periodicals; also includes a subject list.)

If you cannot find the full text of an article in the database you are using, it doesn't mean it isnt available at all, it just might not be in the place you are looking. You can contact us for help, or follow one of these tips to locate the resource you need:

The databases listed below provide abstracts and full text articles from peer reviewed journals, non-peer reviewed journals, magazines and newspapers.  (A peer reviewed journal consists of articles that have been reviewed by a panel of subject experts before they are approved for publication.) 

To access these databases, click on the title and login with the same user name and password that you use for your Saint Leo email.

EBSCO

Scholarly, multi-disciplinary full text database.  After logging in to EBSCO, click on "All EBSCOhost Reference Databases," select the appropriate databases below, click on "Continue," then enter your search terms in the search box.

Academic Search Complete

ATLA Religion Database

Catholic Periodical and Literature Index (CPLI)

New Testament Abstracts

Old Testament Abstracts

 JSTOR

Includes a wide range of academic journals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences.

LexisNexis

Information on legal, corporate, and government subjects through newspapers, journals and magazines. 

Periodicals Archive Online: Philosophy and Religion Collection

Access to more than 200 years of philosophical and religious scholarship.

ProQuest

Business and academic multi-disciplinary databases that contain full-text, scholarly articles, as well as newspapers articles.

Sage Premier

Covers subject areas including business, humanities, social sciences, science, technology, medicine and more.

Introduction to the Library Databases

Myth 1: Everything is on the Internet, and it's free.

You CAN find these things on the Internet:

• Advertising and commercial websites.
• Personal webpages.
• Organizations publications.
• Some full-text articles through journals usually only a few months and a few selected articles, to generate your interest and get you to subscribe.
• Government Documents.
• Ebooks usually fee based.
• Older, out of print (and copyright free) books.
• Fee-based document delivery websites.
• Subscription databases (you or the library must pay to have access).

Why is it important to find good quality resources? How can you decide which database to use?

Good quality resources allow you to turn in a thoughtful, reasoned analysis of your assigned subject. The old rule of "garbage in= garbage out" really holds true for writing. If you have read high quality information and then reflected on it, you are more likely to be able to provide a cogent, well thought out paper of your own. On the other hand, if you are using opinion papers and websites written by unknown authors, your arguments may not be sufficient to sway your audience and may in fact leave a bad impression. If you need help choosing high quality resources, please call and ask for help.

What is a Subscription Database?

• Publishers are in business to earn money, not to provide full-text resources for free. They want you to have access to electronic periodical indexes, abstracts and full-texts -- for a price.
• The library pays the subscription and you get access to thousands of resources without having to leave home.

Indexes:

• Help you locate articles in periodicals: magazines, journals or newspapers.
• Allow for keyword searching and more.
• List citations (title of article, author, title of journal, volume, issue, page number(s) and date of issue).
• Use periodical abbreviations, usually detailed in the Help screens of the database.
• Are in electronic format and may have the full-text article in .html or .pdf format attached to the citation.
• Cover popular articles or specialized areas like Business, Humanities, and Science, to name just a few.

Some limiting Factors to keep in mind when using Indexes:

Online databases usually give you access to about 10-20 years of back-files.
In print you can get access to the New York Times Index from 1851 to present.
Online (in ProQuest) access is limited to 1984 - present.
In print you can get access to the Readers Guide to Periodical Literature 1900 to present.
Online your access is limited to 1983-present.

What Indexes does the Library pay for?

All of the resources under the Library Online Resources link are paid subscription databases.

• Access Science: comprehensive science resource.
• Encyclopedia Brittanica: this is a general reference resource. Your professors will probably not allow you to use this as a quoted resource, but it has a wealth of background information, which will help get you started when you need to lookup information on such assignments as: "Egyptian art and religion: Mummies and the Pyramids" or "A Comparison of Flexible and Alternative Fuel Sources"
• Lexis-Nexis (on campus only): business and legal resources.
• EBSCO: full-text articles and abstracts on many many different subjects.
• Literature Resource Center: intended to help with literature and writing assignments for poetry, American Literature, English Literature, etc.
• Newsbank: America's Newspapers (625 American newspapers)
• ProQuest: full-text articles and abstracts on many different subjects, including Psychology, Education, and Social Work.
• PsycINFO: great resource (mostly abstracts) for psychology classes. Also check in Proquest's PsycArticles, which has more full-text.
• Twayne Authors: biographies, criticisms, and resources for writing that paper about why someone should be included as a major author.
• H. W.Wilson OmniFile: full-text and abstracts, now includes Book Revierw Digest, and Library Literature.
• Westlaw: available on- and off-campus. Torts, laws, and court rulings.
• Xrefer: almost 200 online reference resources, including Art, and Science.
• St. Petersburg Times: regional news source.

For more in-depth assistance with any database, please contact the reference department; we will be more than happy to help you.

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Peer reviewed Journal articles consist of:

Ø original research

Ø commentary

Ø reviews

Ø case studies, and

Ø analysis

of specific topics. Found in full text format in online databases, journal articles provide one of the most current and authoritative sources of research information.

Use for research papers, projects and reports.

Library Database Video tutorial

How to evaluate articles in journals and magazines

Click on the link below to access the Saint Leo Portal.

Then click on "I don't know my User Name" or "I don't know my Password" and follow the directions.