Use different databases and search engines to retrieve different publication types
Most library databases have filters you can use to retrieve only selected publication types.
Journal articles (primary, review articles, systematic reviews, etc.)
Books, book chapters
Proceedings of conference presentations (often abstracts only)
Theses and dissertations
Research reports (from government, research or professional organizations)
Standards
Trade Publications
Magazine articles
News sources
Patents
Other...
♦ Scholarly journal articles are written by and for people in the same and or related academic or professional fields.
♦ They use terminology specific to the field.
♦ They aim to contribute to the scholarly conversation by advancing knowledge.
♦ They are usually peer-reviewed (aka "refereed") or undergo an editorial review by specialists
in the discipline or profession.
♦ They carefully document (cite) their sources, and these cited references may point to earlier sources
relevant to your topic.
♦ Scholarly journal articles also may include links to files with useful supplementary information.
eyewitness Scholarly journals include articles that are reports and discussions of the results of original research, are written by those who carried out the studies, and are based on the results of their experiments or observations.
These articles are also called primary research articles.
In the social sciences, they are often referred to as empirical articles, and the studies use qualitative or quantitative research methods.
A. Search for your journal title in Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory to see if it is scholarly/academic
and refereed (peer-reviewed).
B. Use the Scholarly/Academic Journals limit within many databases
Most article databases allow you to limit your results to only scholarly/academic journals.
(Use other methods to verify if some results seem wrong: this method does not always work well.)
C. Check the journal's website
Search for the journals website. It will describe the purpose of the journal.
Look in the About This Journal section, or in the Instructions to Authors to see if the journal is peer-reviewed.
Even if you have determined that the journal in which an article was published is scholarly, these journals usually also contain other types of articles such as editorials, commentary, review articles, book reviews, and news.
A. Clues you might find in the abstract include words such as:
study, results, methods/methodology, data, experimental, field trial
B. Look at the format of the article. Does it follow the typical format?
Main concept
common name, scientific name: bladder cancer, bladder neoplasms; sleeping sickness, African trypanosomiasis
Modify that concept: What aspects?
etiology, epidemiology, therap*, treatment, prevention, control, vectors, transmission, diagnosis,
complications, drug therapy, risk factors, biological control, prevalence
Use Boolean Operators to specify how to connect your search words:
and to get results including both terms
or to search either term
not to omit a word from the results
Use an asterisk * to get different word endings: photosynthe* to get photosynthesis, photosynthetic, photosynthesize, etc.)
Use quotation marks around words to have them searched as a phrase: "rumen fermentation"
Try adding different aspects to your main concept, synonyms, broader or more specific terms.
Look at terms used in the title, abstract, and subjects of results that you like for ideas.
What options does the database/search engine give for you to Refine Your Results?
e.g., publication dates, publication types (e.g. scholarly journals), age groups, human/animal, language...
Use * for alternate word endings
e.g., sustainab* retrieves sustainable, sustainability etc.
Use the different search lines to enter key words (not sentences) describing the different components of your search topic
Redo your search using new keywords you find in article titles, abstracts, and subject terms given to the articles by the database
Use or between synonyms or alternate concepts
e.g., greenhouse gases* or ghg* or carbon dioxide
Use fewer search terms.
Each time you put in another search term (unless they are synonyms combined with or) you will get fewer results.
Start with a small number of keywords and then add more terms or try different terms based on your results.
Use quotation marks around words you want searched as a phrase
e.g., "greenhouse gases"
Databases usually offer ways to Limit or Refine your search results, such as:
to Scholarly/Peer-reviewed journals
by publication date range
to journal articles only (or books, dissertations, etc)
Some databases also have specific limits or search options such as:
Methodology
Age Groups
Gender
Human/Animal
Add more search terms:
Each time you put in another search term, you will retrieve fewer results.
Start with a small number of keywords and then add more terms or try different terms based on your results.
Use the different search lines to enter more key words (not sentences) describing different components of your topic
In articles that look good, look for other terms in the title, abstract, and subjects.
What is it:
A primary research article?
A review article (which surveys, summarizes, and gives context to primary research articles on a specific topic)?
A dissertation?
...etc?
Is it relevant to your specific topic, does it give you useful background information, or use a methodology you could use or adapt to your project?
Does publication date matter? If so, is it in an appropriate date range?
Watch for other terms that you can search with that might bring back other results