Finding Articles in Periodicals: From the Library Mainpage, follow the Databases link. You will need to select which database you want to use for your research. Sorting through all these databases may at first be intimidating due to the number of choices available. To help you get started, the most commonly used databases are listed at the top of the screen. Databases are also listed by subject and title.

Off-Campus Note: If you are using a computer outside the TCC network, you will be redirected to a login page after you select one of the database services. The login page will give you specific instructions on entering your user name and password. If you have problems signing on, contact the library staff for assistance.

Each service is a little different, but once you have used them you will begin to see that the basic idea of keyword searching can be applied almost anywhere. Two popular places to begin your research are EBSCOhost and Gale. One advantage to using EBSCOhost is that you may search more than one sub-database within the EBSCOhost service. For example, you can search the MasterFile Search Premier, the Academic Search Premier and the Business Source Premier at the same time by checking the box next to each title.

Click here to see an example of selecting multiple databases in EBSCOhost.

Once you select the appropriate database(s), enter your search terms. You can perform a basic or advanced search. The basic search is further divided by keywords or exact phrases. For most searches, basic keyword combinations [Example: privacy and terrorism] are sufficient. If you need to limit your results to "scholarly" or "peer-reviewed" journals only, check the box labeled "peer-reviewed." In addition, check the box labeled "full text" so you will only get articles that include the full text.

[See Scholarly Journals - What are they? for more information on "peer-reviewed" journals.]

Document formats: Once you have completed your search and are viewing the result list, you will notice that many articles are available in different formats.

• HTML Full Text - This format includes just the text of the article and has limited graphics. This is the best choice if you do not need the included images or graphics, or you are saving/emailing the article and need to conserve space on your computer disk or in your mailbox.
• PDF or Full Page Image - A scanned image that displays the article just as it appeared in the magazine or journal. It will include any charts, graphics, and pictures that appeared with the original article. This can be useful if you are looking for visual aids. Viewing a PDF requires the free Acrobat Reader.

If the documents are not what you are looking for, click on "Refine Search" and try other terms. Try searching synonyms, using specific phrases for exact searches, or use the Expand Search to locate related words.

Once you find an article you want to use for your assignment, you may read it online, print it, email to your email account or save it to disk. The information is the same for all. Be sure if you are printing, emailing, or saving it to disk, that you check the box to include full text.

Caution: Be careful when emailing a PDF article, because those files can be quite large. Many email/Internet providers have strict limits on the size of messages and attachments, and oversized PDF attachments might be deleted automatically by your email server or exceed your available mailbox space.

Click here to see an example of emailing an article from EBSCOhost.