How do I...?

You can access articles in academic journals, newspapers and magazines through our databases, provided you have a current Webster or Eden ID number. To find which database is best for you, see our index of databases by subject, which groups the databases into a variety of subject areas. Start with one of the "core" databases for your subject.

If you are not certain which database to use, we suggest you try Academic Search Premier, a powerful multi-disciplinary database with articles in many areas.

Our databases contain records which include basic citation information about the article: article title, journal title, subject headings, abstract or summary, date, etc. Notice in the example below that the screen is set to search "default fields". When you search "default fields" or "keyword," you are searching the entire record. The databases may also allow you to restrict your search to a specific field (e.g., title, subject).

Use a combination of one or two words or brief phrases in your initial search rather than a long phrase or question. If you wanted to find out about rapid melting of glaciers in Greenland and its implications for climate change and projections of global warming, this would be a good initial search:

If you received too many results, you could add a phrase like "climate change" or "global warming" in the third box. See our Searching a Database tutorial for more information on searching, including the use of connectors (e.g. "and," "or").

Some citations will have a link that says "text," "HTML text," "PDF text," etc. If so, clicking on the link will retrieve the full text of the article. Others may have an Article Linker button. You may click on Article Linker to see whether we have it in another database or here in the library (Webster periodicals). If you don't see an Article Linker link, you can check on the full-text availability of an article by using the Journal/Magazine/Newspaper list. See How Do I Find a Known Article for an explanation of this process.

If the library does not have the article in print or online, you may request the article as described in How Do I Request an Article. Note that Webster/Eden patrons outside the St. Louis area may also request copies of articles that the library has in print but not online.

Additional information is available on:

• Article Linker
• How to read a citation