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MINY403 (Adolescent Issues and Interventions): Find Journal Articles

This guide includes print and electronic resources, and instruction that will aid students in MINY403. This guide was originally created by Michelle Spomer.

APU Databases

APU has close to 100 databases to assist you in your research. Most of these databases will help you find journal articles. However, there are many more types of content that you will discover in these databases, such as streaming music (Classical Music Library), electronic books (Ebrary and EBSCO Ebook Collection), art images (ARTstor), just to name a few.

To access the databases...

Need help using ATLA Religion database? Take a look at the following guide:

How to do Scripture Research in APU Databases

Recommended Databases

The following databases will provide you with journal articles, book reviews, essays, and more. Take a look at some of the information in the box to the right for instructions on effective database searching. When searching in these databases, try using some of the search terms listed in the "Find Books" section of this guide. 

Multi-Disciplinary Databases

The subject-specific databases listed in the section above are the best places to start searching for theological materials, but you will probably also benefit from searching in some of the multi-disciplinary databases. Here are a few that I would recommend:

What's A Library Database?

Finding Scholarly Articles

As with finding news articles (see 'Finding News Articles' box on this page), in most databases you can limit your search to scholarly articles at the beginning of your search, or when you already have a results list. 

Before you enter your search terms, look for a way to limit your search to only scholarly/peer-reviewed articles, as you see in the example below.

 

You might also be able to narrow your results list to only scholarly/peer-reviewed articles if you didn't do it at the beginning of your search (see example).

Finding Full Text Articles Online

There are usually a couple of scenarios in which you find yourself needing to know if APU Libraries can provide you with a particular journal article: 1) you found a journal article listed in a bibliography, or a syllabus, or elsewhere, and you'd really like to get it, or 2) you're searching in one of the many journal article databases, and you find an article in the results list that you want, but you don't see a full-text link. In the first case, a tool called 'Article Finder' will be helpful, and in the second case, the 'Full Text Finder' links will assist you.

Have a Particular Article You Want to Find? Use Article Finder!

When you want to know if APU Libraries can provide you with a particular journal article you have citation information for, Article Finder is the tool for you. Follow these steps:

  1. Go to the library website: http://www.apu.edu/library/
  2. Click on the 'More Search Options' link, and then on the 'Article Finder' link (see graphic below). 
     

  3. Type in at least the journal title (or ISSN), volume, issue and the article title, and click 'Search' or 'Go.' More information is good, too. If you have a DOI, no other information is necessary.
  4. If the article is available in full-text for you to read online, you will be taken directly to the article you want.
  5. If you aren't taken directly to an article, this means that it isn't available in any of our databases. You will see a form with most of the citation filled out. Fill out any other citation information if necessary, and submit the form. You will receive the article in your email within 1-2 business days if it's available from our partner libraries (ArticleReach). If APU doesn't own it and ArticleReach can't provide it, then you can still request it via interlibrary loan for free. See the interlibrary loan services section of the library website. 
  6. If you are having problems using Article Finder, or if you're interested in simply checking to see if APU has a particular journal title, use our 'Periodical Finder' tool. As opposed to Article Finder which takes complete citation information, Periodical Finder only requires the journal title.

 

Found a Great Article in a Database but No Full Text? Use Full Text Finder!

Before following the instructions below, note that not all of our databases will have Full Text Finder links (but most will).

  1. When you've performed a search in one of the journal article databases, and you have a list of results, you'll eventually start noticing that some results will have a full-text link (which means you can access the article online), and others have a Full Text Finder link (which means the database you're using does not provide access to the article online): 
  2. Click on the Full Text Finder link. One of three things will happen: 1) You will be taken directly to a full-text article in a different database, 2) You will be taken to a record in our library catalog (meaning we have the title in our print collection) - in this case you will need to verify we have the volume/issue you need, and then go to the library and make a copy of it, or 3) You will be taken to a form so that you can request it through ArticleReach - fill out any additional information, submit the form, and you should receive the article within 1-2 business days.
  3. If ArticleReach can't provide the article, you can still request it via interlibrary loan for free. See the interlibrary loan services section of the library website. 

Google Scholar

Google Scholar helps you find relevant work across the world of scholarly research, including articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other web sites. Look for the 'APU Library FT Finder' link off to the right of results - these will take you into an APU journal article database where you can usually view the full text of the article. Feel free to play around with the search you see below - just click 'Search,' and modify the terms in the search box.

Note: If you are off-campus, you will need to go through the following steps to see which items are available through APU databases:

  • Go to Google Scholar (scholar.google.com) and click on Settings near the top of the page
  • Select Library Links from the menu on the left
  • Type Azusa Pacific University in the search box and click the search icon
  • Azusa Pacific University should show up in the list below the search box - check the box for Azusa Pacific University
  • Click the Save button
Google Scholar Search