Searching the Databases

The image illustrates what you will find when you conduct a database search.

There is a lot of information on a search results page.  So we have highlighted the important parts of the search results page and below we provide a brief explanation of these elements . 

1 Results- the amount of search results that match your results. 

2 Full text- This is a filter which will allow you to limit your search results to full text articles.

3 Academic (Peer reviewed) articles- This is a filter that limits your search results to peer reviewed articles . In this case the library has added this filter to your search. In some databases the library may not select this filter for you. 

4 All time-  This filter allows you to limit your search results to information in the last 12 months, 5 years or ten years. 

5 Source type- This filter allows you to limit your search results by academic journals, conference paper, magazines, trade publications and reports. 

6 Advanced search option- This filter allows you to add or remove words from search results. 

If you wish  look at a particular search result in more detail, you can click on the title of the article. This click will bring you to a screen known as an individual search result record. This screenshot can appear quite busy so below we explain the important elements to consider.

• Access option - This  filter will allow you to read online or download the material .
• Title -This provides information on the work. You would be required to include this information as part of  your references.
• Author- This refers to the person (s) who wrote the work. You would be required to include this information as part of  your references.
• Quotation marks - This option will  create a reference for material in Harvard and APA. However please refer to our reference guide here for specific requirements . 
• Abstract- This is a short summary of the work. It is useful to read this abstract before you read the full article in order to understand whether this material is related to your research. 
• Subject keywords- These are words the word has provided to describe their work. Most databases hyperlink them so they provide useful jump points to explore similar topics. 

Essentially peer review is an academic term for quality control.  Each article published in a peer-reviewed journal is closely examined by a panel of reviewers who are experts on the article's topic.  The reviewers look for proper use of research methods, significance of the paper’s contribution to the existing literature, and integration of previous authors’ work on the topic in any discussion including citations. 

Papers published in these journals are expert-approved and therefore the most authoritative sources of information for college-level research papers.  Articles from other popular publications e.g. magazines, newspapers or a number of sites on the Internet are published with minimal editing.  While interesting to read, these articles are not sufficient to support research at an academic level. It is best practice to use peer-reviewed articles for assignments.