Quick Tips: Searching for Articles

Read the user guide, Accessing Journals & Periodicals, for more step-by-step assistance.

Use print and electronic indexes and databases to locate journal & magazine articles. Most print indexes are located in any reference room. To access the electronic indexes, you'll need to login using your student network account if on campus and through the proxy server if off-campus.

Go to Find Articles (In Databases) or (by Subject or Topic) to choose from all of the other indexes available to you as a VU student. Not all indexes are available outside the Christopher Center; some indexes are accessible only on the network within the library, others are available on the open Internet.

Electronic Database and Index Tips

The heading "SOURCE" indicates the title of the resource containing the article (a journal, magazine, newspaper, etc.). The title of the resource is what you use to search JournaLocater or GALILEO to learn if Library Services owns a copy of the resource. A title search using the article title won't reveal if we own the resource even if we do.

Many databases time you out after a period of inactivity (not clicking on result choices, entering search terms, etc.) This can be as short as 5 minutes!

Consider e-mailing your search results whenever possible (even if you are printing out a copy of them and/or each article). This allows you an easy cut and paste for end-of-paper references as well as a backup in case your printing doesn't go as planned. Just remember: if you send yourself an abstract/citation e-mail, that is what you'll receive; the full-text won't magically appear in your e-mail.

When using the e-mail option, put your search topic in the subject line, or even better, create a folder to send all of these e-mails to. That way, you won't mistake your e-mail for spam and delete it, sometimes negating hours of hard work.

To be able to construct a well-defined search query within any electronic sources, you should understand the underlying concepts beneath classification systems, searching terminology and tools, and the critical evaluation of search results. Read the user guide, Searching for Information: Concepts and Tools, to learn of tools and strategies that will make your electronic searching precise.