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Summary
- Journal articles are short summaries of scholarly topics or research, come in different types, and can be peer-reviewed.
- Search for journal articles Primo Search and subject specific databases.
- Find subject-relevant journal titles on the Journals & Articles tab of your subject guide or course/program guide
- Search Primo for individual journal article titles and request electronic copies of journal articles CUW doesn’t have online.
Related Guides: Find Specific Articles or Journals
Types of Journal Articles
This video covers tips for finding peer reviewed articles and how to determine if a journal article is peer reviewed.
Is this a Peer Reviewed journal Article? (2 min)
Note: not every article in a peer-reviewed journal is a research article. In a database look for Document Type. Most assignments will require #1 and/or #2
Original Research
- Look for: words like “study”, “design” “experiment” or “analysis” in the abstract
- Common sections: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion
Literature Review
- Look for: summary of multiple articles on a topic
- Long page lengths
- Sections organized by themes
Methodology/Theoretical
- Looks for: terms like “concepts”, “framework”, “model”, “theoretical foundation”, and “perspectives” in the abstract or title
- Difficult to read and understand
News/Opinions/Book Reviews/Letters/
- Look for: reference to another publication, person, or event
- Not scholarly
- very short page length
Case studies
- Look for: a description of a unique situation or events
- More common in medicine, business, social sciences
- May be too unique to be applicable to a larger population.
Find articles by topic
Primo searches journal articles from most databases. This video demonstrates the process.
- Use Download PDF or Read Article links on the left under the article information, if available.
- Click Online in green and choose and database link from the list.
Find articles on subject guides
Most databases have journal articles. Find database suggestions on your Subject Guides‘ Databases tab.
Many subject guides also have Journals & Articles tab as well.
Many subject guides also have Journals & Articles tab as well.
Find journal articles in databases
Almost all databases have some journal articles. Databases are organized by subject and include descriptions of the types of items they have.
Suggested Help Guide: Using Databases