Spend some time brainstorming keywords and search terms. Use subject headings or descriptors to help generate search terms.
Using an asterisk * at the end of a word will expand your search to include sources with all forms of that word. For example, a search for censor* will lead to results that include the words censor, censored, censorship, etc.
Use the word AND between search terms to narrow your search. For example, if you search for
censorship AND television
your search results will only include articles that contain both words.
Use the word OR between search terms to expand your search. For example, if you search for
advertisements OR commercials
your search results will include articles that contain either term.
When you find a good article, look at its References or Works Cited list. That will often lead you to other useful sources.
Do you have an article citation, but need to find the full-text article? Three Steps to Finding the Full Text Article:
1. Check the Electronic Journals A-Z List by searching for the name of the Journal name (not the article title) in the "Find" box. If the journal comes up in your results, look at the years of coverage to make sure that the library has the year you are looking for. If yes, click on the link for the journal and then scroll to the volume you need or search within the journal for the article.
2. If you aren't able to find the journal in the Electronic Journal list, check the Catalog to find the journal in print by searching for the name of the journal (not the article title). If the journal comes up in your results, look at the years of coverage to make sure that the library has the year you are looking for. If yes, copy down the call number so that you'll be able to locate the journal in the stacks.
3. If you can't get the article in print or online, order the article through InterLibrary Loan.
SocIndex Indexes more than 1,986,000 records in the field of sociology, including journal articles, books & conference proceedings.
ISI Web of Knowledge Cross-Search Covers over 10,000 journals in the social sciences, sciences, and arts and humanities, as well as conference proceedings. *Great tool for citation tracking
JSTOR An archive of scholarly journal articles from a variety of subject areas, including sociology. Use Advanced Search to limit by academic discipline, such as Sociology, Film Studies, or Sociology.
ProQuest Central A great multidisciplinary database. You can also limit your search to ProQuest Social Science Journals
Project Muse Provides full-text journal articles from a variety of subject areas.
Academic Search Premier A multidisciplinary database that offers indexing and abstracts for 7,100 journals
Expanded Academic ASAP An interdisciplinary index to journals and national news magazines.
Check out the library's e-journals list to search for articles in specific journals. For example:
Google Scholar is a great tool for doing a broad search of scholarly literature on your topic:
You'll just want to keep some things in mind:
You can access advanced search features by clicking the arrow in the right of the search box. These features allow you to refine your search.
Look for the words Get Full Txt @ Holy Cross next to an article. You should be able to access any of these articles through the library's subscriptions. If you come across a source that Holy Cross does not have access to, remember that you can request the item through Interlibrary Loan.
Scholar Settings When you are on the Holy Cross campus, Google Scholar will automatically show you those Get Full Txt @ Holy Cross links next to articles that Holy Cross has access to. If you are off-campus, you can set your Scholar Settings to show the links for accessing sources through Holy Cross. You can modify your settings by selecting the Settings link in the upper-right corner of Google Scholar webpage.
Click on the Cited by and Related articles links at the bottom of a search result to find more relevant articles and books.