The Research Process: A Step-By-Step Guide

Posted with permission from Yavapia College.

Article databases provide you with 24-7 access to magazine, journal and newspaper articles. To help you identify the most appropriate database for your research topic:

1. Look at your topic and the keywords you identified to represent your topic. What subject(s) do your keywords represent? Use this information to find a subject guide to help select the best databases for your research.
2. Check the Subject Guide for your topic. Relevant databases are listed on the Databases & Journals tab.
3. You may also consult the Database A-Z guide and use the pull down menu to limit your search by the subject most appropriate for your topic. 
4. If you are uncertain which subject best fits your topic or which database to start with, try using UNI-Search!, our Google-link single search tool, that searches many databases at once.

Depending on the database you are using, articles may be displayed in different formats:

• Index: Includes only the article citation (i.e., author, title, date, etc.). Neither a summary, nor the full-text of the article are available.
• Abstract: Includes the citation and a summary of the article's content. It does not include the full-text article.
• Full-text: Includes the citation and full-text article. This may be in HTML, .pdf, or both formats.