Use Search.Libraries to find books, journal articles, scores, audio, video, and more—all from a single integrated starting point.
To find scholarly articles in Search.Libraries, you can:
The following are some of the top databases for [SUBJECT] research. For a full list of databases at Oberlin, check out our Databases A-Z. Try limiting by [SUBJECT] as a Subject!
To find scholarly articles in databases, look for filters that allow you to limit results to scholarly & peer-reviewed articles.
A suite of four comprehensive art encyclopedias. Useful for scholarly overviews and excellent bibliographies.
Authoritative guide to reliable peer-reviewed resources and scholarship in African Studies, Buddhism, Islamic Studies, Jewish Studies, Latin American Studies, Linguistics, Medieval Studies, Political Science, and Renaissance and Reformation. Bibliographies are selectively curated and annotated by expert academics and offer high-level overviews that provide non-experts with a point of entry into unfamiliar areas of study.
Both scholarly and peer-reviewed articles are written by experts in academic or professional fields.
Scholarly articles are published in journals for specific academic disciplines. Many scholarly journals are also peer-reviewed.
Peer-reviewed articles been submitted to reviewers who are experts in the field. Because the reviewers specialize in the same scholarly area as the author, they are considered the author’s peers (hence “peer review”).
Both scholarly and peer-reviewed articles are excellent places to find what has been studied or researched on a topic, as well as find references to additional relevant sources of information.
ArticlesArticles are works of writing published in serial or periodical publications; this includes scholarly and peer-reviewed journals, but also trade publications, newsletters, magazines, newspapers, blogs, and more!
Scholarly ArticlesScholarly articles are written by experts in academic or professional fields, and are published in journals for specific academic disciplines.
Peer-reviewed ArticlesPeer-reviewed articles are scholarly articles that have been reviewed and vetted by experts in the field. Because these reviewers specialize in the same scholarly area as the author, they are considered the author’s peers (hence “peer review”).
1. Read The Abstract
The abstract will give you a general understanding of the article. Also, pay attention to the authors and their titles.
2. Read The ConclusionThe conclusion will summarize the author's findings including ways of improving the research.
3. Read The IntroductionThe introduction will set up the layout of the article and the main argument of the article.
Tip #1: Highlight important ideas.
4. Read The First And Last Sentence Of Each ParagraphThe first and last sentence of each paragraph will give you a brief understanding of the discussion.
Tip #2: Take notes on the margins.
5. Read The Rest Of The ArticleAfter getting a general idea of the article, read the entire article to get a full picture of the author's argument.
Tip #3: Repeat steps one and two.
OriginalAn article that reports on original research such as an experiment, or analysis of data, a creative work, phenomena, or historical event.
ReviewAn article summarizing the results of many original articles investigating similar topics. May use analytic techniques such as meta-analysis to statistically compare data from multiple studies.
Tip #1 - Many scholarly journals, especially in the Humanities, also publish book reviews of scholarly books. These are not the same as review articles!
TheoryAn article intended to contribute to the theoretical foundations of a field, providing explanations for phenomena and frameworks that can be used to guide the analysis of evidence.
Multidisciplinary - good for nearly all subjects. Scholarly and trade journals, popular magazines, newspapers, conference proceedings, book reviews, and more.
Scholarly literature in the sciences, health and medicine, social sciences, arts, and humanities and proceedings of international conferences, symposia, seminars, colloquia, workshops, and conventions. Includes cited reference searching across many databases. Search all databases in Web of Science (includes Medline and BIOSIS, direct link for on-campus users). Dates of coverage: 1965 to present.