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Library User Guide

A quick reference and basic tutorial for library research at Averett

Search in Databases for Articles on a Topic

Books in Worldcat cover broad topics with a long term or historical perspective. For the most current and specific scholarly and professional information, we turn to articles published in academic and professional journals.

The library licenses 40,000 journals and newspapers, nearly all of them online. A WorldCat search for "Articles" or "Everything" will retrieve articles from many, but not all of the databases licensed by Averett. You can limit WorldCat results to "peer reviewed" articles. If you require a comprehensive or highly specific search, we recommend consulting a subject research guide and the databases recommended for that field of study.

Databases are mapped to subjects in the Averett University curriculum. Select a subject and its research guide for tips on where to look for the best information.


For information on a specific person, place or topic -- for example "Stalin," "freedom of speech," or "Crimea" -- it is best to start in a research database. If you already know the name of the database you need, select it from A-Z Databases:


If you are not sure which database or subject guide covers your topic, try Academic Search Complete:

Tips for Databases Searches

Academic Search Complete is a database of scholarly articles covering nearly all subjects in the arts and sciences, athletics, and professional fields. You can search this database with a single word or phrase, or focus your search by entering terms on two or three separate lines connected by the Boolean operators AND, OR, and NOT, for example:

"global warming"
OR
"climate change"
AND
"polar ice cap"

Connecting separate concepts with "AND" narrows the search by ensuring that both terms are mentioned in each article you retrieve (the shaded intersection of A and B).

Use "OR" to retrieve all articles (the union of A+ B), when either term can represent your idea. The Boolean "OR" broadens your search, increasing the number of hits.

Enclosing words in quotations retrieves the exact phrase:
"global warming"
"polar ice cap"

When you retrieve results in Academic Search Complete, the first records displayed are from all sources indexed. You can narrow your search with "Refine your results" to "Scholarly/Peer Reviewed Journals."

"Academic" and "scholarly" are general terms meaning that the authors are professors or researchers. The article will indicate the authors' names and affiliations (where they work or which organizations supported their research).

"Peer-reviewed" books and articles are vetted by experts who assess the quality of the research and validity of the results based on their knowledge of the subject or methodology.

For more information on Boolean operators, watch this video:

What is a Research Article?

In a research article, scholars define a problem, offer a literature review (overview of previous research), report the methodology and results of a specific research effort, discuss implications of the results, and offer recommendations for further study.

What is a Review Article?

A review article presents a broad overview of current research on a problem-- a "state of the art" summary. Review articles can help you understand the context of a research effort and become familiar with important scholars in the field. They also provide valuable references to specific research reports.

Exercise 3: Search for Articles

Connect to:

Enter a search on your general topic without limits. Now, enter the same search, but limit results to Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals.

How many non-peer reviewed (popular or less authoritative) articles did you eliminate in your second search?

Interlibrary Loan for Articles

If you found citations with no full text online, or are having difficulties linking out to full text, fill out a form to

In most cases, the library will email you a link to the article within 48 hours.