Finding Information
Finding Articles with Databases or
Indexes
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Finding Information
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Finding Articles with Databases or
Indexes
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Pop Quiz: If you have a research topic and you want to find articles on it in magazines, journals, or newspapers, what should you do? (For why you would want to find articles, consult OWL 2.)
Click the letters of all of the answers you think are right
A. Go to the Periodicals section of the library and start looking through the issues
B. Do a subject or keyword search in the library's online catalog to find articles
C. Search the library's Journal and Newspaper Finder to find articles
D. Use a search engine to find articles on the Web
E. Ask a librarian for help
F. Use a periodical index, database, or abstract
How did you do? As the pop quiz shows, there are a number of ways to find articles. This OWL explains how to use periodical indexes and abstracts. The online versions of these are commonly called databases, though as OWL 4 explains, the term "database" can refer to any organized collection of information. In our library, we refer to our online periodical indexes and abstracts as databases, and you will find them on our Databases page, described below.
What are Periodical Indexes and Abstracts?
Just as the index to a book tells you where in the book to find information on a particular subject, a periodical index tells you where in a periodical to find an article on a particular topic or by a particular author. A book index gives you the page number(s) to look up, but you need more information to find an article in a periodical.
Most indexes cover many periodicals, so, for each article, they need to give the title of the magazine or journal that contains the article. The index also lists the author(s) of the article, the article title, the volume and issue number in which it appears, which pages it is on, and the date of publication.
An index is called an abstract if it includes a brief summary of the article as well as the information needed to find the article. Confusingly enough, the summary is also called an abstract.
The example below is from the Academic Search Elite database. Notice that the fields containing the location information are labeled. The "source" field includes the journal title, date of publication, volume number, issue number, beginning page number, and total number of pages in the article. Some of the fields are links, which you can search by clicking on them. For example, to find all the articles by John C. Liccardone in the Academic Search database, you could click on his name in the author field.
This example includes an abstract. Isn't this helpful? Notice how the abstract
tells you a lot more about the contents of the article than the title alone
does.
Choosing the Best Database, Index, or Abstract for Your Research
If you need fairly current information, you will probably want to use a database, rather than an index. Only a few databases index articles published before the 1970s. In many, coverage begins with articles published in the 1990s and continues up to the present.
Databases are convenient:
Under each subject category, there is information about each database that will help you decide if it is right for your research topic. A librarian can help, too.
The databases listed are divided into "basic" and "specialized."
The basic databases Academic Search and OmniFile cover all subjects, but not in depth. Our library has a large proportion of the material they cover. They cover both popular and scholarly material and allow you to limit your search to peer reviewed journals, which are written at a substantive/non-specialist or scholarly level. For more information on audience levels of publications, see OWL 5.
The specialized databases each cover narrower subject ranges and typically index only scholarly or professional literature. They often include material in other languages than English, and our library has a smaller proportion of the material they cover.
Next to each database link is a red circle with an "i" inside -
. Click on this icon for more information about the database, such as its level of coverage and how far back in time its coverage goes.
There is also a "text" icon next to each database that includes fulltext -
. Some of these are entirely fulltext, and some are not. The "i" information will tell you.
When you need articles from before the advent of databases, use print periodical indexes or abstracts. These are not so convenient as databases. You must usually search only one year at a time, there is no keyword searching, and there is almost never fulltext for the articles you find. These indexes are easy to browse, however, and it can be thrilling to find what you are looking for after a kind of treasure hunt.
The Library has print indexes with coverage extending back into the 19th century in some cases. The Selected List of Print Indexes in the Humboldt State University Library is arranged by the same subject categories as the databases subject list and gives locations for some of the most commonly used print indexes. (Notice that many of these print indexes continue in electronic form.)
You may want to browse in the Index and Abstract shelves on the first floor of the library to find print indexes or abstracts. The items on these shelves are arranged according to the Library of Congress Subject Classification. A librarian can also suggest appropriate indexes and abstracts for your research.
Tips for Searching
Databases
Read any online help that is available. This will explain how to enter your search terms and tell you what special search features are offered. If you are new to electronic searching, consult OWL 4, which introduces basic techniques.
Here are some general tips for effective searching of electronic databases:
The best all-purpose strategy: Start with a keyword search, examine the records you retrieve, and look for additional search terms in the title, abstract, or descriptor fields of the records that are the closest to what you are looking for. Modify your search with the new terms. For example, mule deer may lead you to odocoileus hemionus and many more hits.
Ask for what you want: Be as specific as you can. If you want articles on the Battle of Antietam in the Civil War, search for battle and antietam, not war or even civil war.
Zoom in or out: If you don't find anything, or not enough, with a very focused search, try a broader one. If you don't find anything on antietam, try civil war Pennsylvania. If you find way too much, narrow your focus. For more ways to broaden or narrow your search, see OWL 4.
Keep it simple, Sweetie: Don't include more than two or three concepts in a search statement. Four is the absolute maximum, and in many cases, it's too many. Too many concepts results in zero hits. If you want to know the relationship between smoking by expectant mothers and the weight of their infants at birth, search for smoking and birth weight. Articles that include these two terms are likely to discuss their relationship, and the concept of birth weight implies infants and mothers.
If at first you don't succeed ... Don't give up! Try other terms, other databases, or ask a librarian for help.
Print Indexes or Abstracts
Look in the front of the volume for help. The introductory material will contain a detailed explanation of how to use that specific index or abstract, how to interpret the entries, what abbreviations mean, and other important information.
Here are some general tips:
Take Your Time: Most print indexes cover just one year, so you may have to search in several volumes to find all of the articles you need.
Learn the Vocabulary: Indexes are usually arranged alphabetically by subject although some have author entries, too. Many use the Library of Congress subject headings, which are the same as the subject headings in the HSU Library catalog, but some have their own list of subjects. You may need to think creatively in order to translate your subject of interest into the terminology of the index.
Consult the Thesaurus, If Possible: There may be a thesaurus of subject terms for your index. This is similar to a language thesaurus. It will have the preferred subject terms, possibly with definitions, and there will be entries for the synonyms not being used, as well as lists of more general and more specific terms. If your index or abstract has a thesaurus, it will be shelved nearby. You can often find the right terms by browsing in the index itself. See references will direct you from the terms not preferred to the preferred ones; see also references will direct you to related terms.
Remember that indexes cover many periodicals. It is unlikely that our library will have all of the periodicals covered by an index. Obtaining the Article, another section of this OWL, has instructions for finding out if our Library has the article you want and how to get it if we don't.
How Abstracts Work
Most abstracts also cover one year, or less. Abstracts are usually arranged in broad subject categories. Each abstract entry is assigned a number, and the entries are arranged in numerical order through the volume. The numbering starts over each year. There is a separate index for each year.
In order to find articles of interest, start with the index. It may be a section of the abstract volume, or it may be in a separate volume. There will be a subject index, perhaps based on a thesaurus, an author index, and possibly other indexes. When you find the term of interest in the index, instead of information about the article, you will see a number, or perhaps several numbers. These are the numbers of the abstract entries. Look up the number, being careful to match the year, and you will find the location information and summary for each article. (This sounds more complicated than it actually is. If you need help, as always, please see a librarian.) Here is an example from Forestry Abstracts:
