See the How to Search for an Article instructions below for detailed information on how to search the ATLA Religion/ATLAS, Old Testament Abstracts, and New Testament Abstracts databases, topically by use of keywords and/or by use of subject headings. Also see the Advanced Searching in ATLA sub-page on the tab for this page. The video tutorials here by Atla provide three methods for the one approach of doing a scripture search in the database. Sometimes doing keyword/subject as well as scripture searches can be beneficial in maximizing results.
1 - Go to the APU library website: https://apu.edu/library.
2 - Below the image, click on the tab "Articles and Databases." Skip the Browse Databases box here and hit "Search."
3 - In the drop-down Browse by Subject menu on the top left, select and click "Biblical Studies" and hit "Search."
4 - Choose one of the three databases, either “ATLA Religion Database with ATLAS PLUS," “New Testament Abstracts," or “Old Testament Abstracts."**
Note: ATLAS Religion Database with ATLAS PLUS featured in Best Bets is the main academic content database for religion, including biblical studies.
5 - If you have not yet logged in, you must do so now.
6 - Enter two or three keywords related to your needs. Put the most important term first. If it is a phrase, enclose it in quotation marks, e.g., "Good Samaritan." (See tutorials in the top box for instructions on how to search by Scripture citation.)
7 - Use the limiters below the search boxes to limit the list of results. Set the Publication Type to "Article." Set the Language to the languages you read. Set the Year Published for the last 10 years or so (read assignment instructions). Set to "Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals" [or "Peer Reviewed." Other terms are academic, arbitrated or adjudicated]. It is often useful to remove any preset checks on the boxes of search expanders (i.e. the "Also search within" and "Apply equivalent subjects" boxes).
8 - Click on "Search."
9 - From the list of results, read the titles to find the most appropriate one(s).
10 - Click on a title of a promising article to see the full display of the record. Look for the field labeled "Subjects."
11 - Read the subject headings. They are detailed descriptions keyed to the content of the article in question. They also serve as hyperlinks to articles of similar content.
12 - Choose the articles that are most appropriate according to the assigned "Subject" descriptors, the title of the article and the title of the journal.
13 - Additional keywords or subject headings can be added or combined for more accurate results.
**When searching for articles in other databases for other subjects, look for similar functions and features and use similar steps and search strategies described here.
The research librarians are here to help.