You use the keywords from your research topic to search for journal articles on a topic -- usually in a database.

• Start your searches with broad keywords in a general database like 1Search or Google Scholar. Try starting with 2-3 keywords and refining your search results from there.
• If your topic is more specialized, you may want to search a subject database.  The library has databases for almost every topic, from Anthropology to Zoology.  Use the database subject menu to choose a database that matches your topic.

Once you find your article's entry in a database, check whether the database provides the full-text article. If it does, the database will provide a link to a "full-text PDF", "full text available online", or something similar.

If the database doesn't provide a full-text article, click on the FindIt@OSU button to see if OSU subscribes to the electronic or the paper copy of the journal. FindIt@OSU will open a new window and will display a link to full-text when available. If not, request the article from Interlibrary Loan

If you have an article citation and want to find that specific article, you can find it in several ways:

• 1Search
  • Search for the article title.  It is often useful to put quotes around the article title to find the exact title you want.
    • Example:  "Feasibility of a Home-Delivered Internet Obesity Prevention Program for Fourth-Grade Students" 
  • Alternately, click on the eJournals A-Z link and search for the journal title, then navigate to the article using the date, volume, issue, and page number information.
• Google Scholar
  •  Use the article title.  Again, it is often useful to put quotes around the article title to find the exact title you want.  If you find articles that are not freely available, be sure to set up your Google Scholar preferences to talk to the OSU Libraries, or search the e-journals or catalog to see if we have the article.

With Google Scholar you can search broadly (across several disciplines) with one search.  You can use Google Scholar to find peer-reviewed articles, but you will also find pre-print copies of articles, conference papers, white papers, patents, legal opinions and more.

1.  Before you start searching, connect Google Scholar to OSU's catalog by going to Scholar Preferences and entering Oregon State University in the Library Links field.
2. Enter your keywords in the search box.
3. Browse results, making sure to use the library's subscriptions to get access to the text of the articles where you can.