How to Find Articles

Top Ten Tips for Finding Articles

• Where to start
  Begin your search for articles by clicking on the Articles & Databases link on the Douglas College library homepage. Use one or more of these databases to find articles about your topic.
   
• Choose Your Database
  A good place to start is with a general database such as Academic Search Complete . There are also specialized databases for specific subjects. Select one under your subject area.
   
• Find Newspapers
  Use the Canadian Newsstand  database to find articles in newspapers. Canadian Newsstand contains full text articles from major newspapers across Canada, including the Vancouver Sun, the Vancouver Province and the Globe and Mail.
   
• Select Your Search Terms
  When typing your search terms, choose a few words that best describe the information you want and use the word "and" to connect these words  e.g. anorexia and body image and teenagers. Go to Search Strategies  for more tips on searching.
   
• Find Full Text Articles
  Many of the articles you find will be full text, that is, the complete article will be available in the databases and may be printed or emailed.
   
• Find Articles that are NOT Full Text
  If the article you want is not available in the database, go to Journal Titles at the Library and type in the title of the journal you need. This will tell you whether it is available in full text elsewhere in the library. For instance, it might be full text in a different database or available in print on the shelf.
   
• Get Articles from Another Library
  You may request an Interlibrary Loan to get an article from another library if the article you want is not available at Douglas College. This takes approximately 8-12 days.
   
• Know the Difference between Databases and the Free Internet
  Remember you need to use the Library's databases to get journal and magazine articles, as most articles are not available full text on the free Internet using search engines such as Google.