Select a database to find articles and other resources by Subject (e.g., biology, business, history, nursing) or by Database Type. Databases may have more than one subject or type. While some databases contain complete articles ('full text'), most databases offer indexes containing only the article's citation.
Database Types:
Database Icons:
This database is free to use and does not require a login
This database contains primary sources
View the tutorial for this database
Most of the results you will encounter in Google Scholar are not freely accessible. They require a subscription. The University Library subscribes to hundreds of databases, allowing faculty and students to access articles at no additional cost. By linking your search in Google Scholar to the CSU Pueblo Library, you can find articles that the library has already paid for you to access. Prior to searching on Google Scholar, follow the steps listed below:
If CSU Pueblo does not own a book or have access to a full-text version of the article you need, then you can request that item through a process called "interlibrary loan". WorldCat and Prospector allow students and faculty to submit a request to borrow books and articles from other libraries around the country. If you need assistance with this process, reach out to a Librarian!
Interlibrary Loan
Request books, print and electronic articles, and more from libraries across the nation and throughout the world.
WorldCat
Request items via WorldCat, a global catalog containing books, video recordings, serials, and online materials from thousands of libraries worldwide.
Prospector
Prospector Regional Catalog contains 20 million+ items from libraries in and around Colorado. Materials can be requested and delivered to CSU-Pueblo library.
If the article you want is not part of the library's collection, you can request a copy by clicking Find It @CSU-Pueblo. You will be directed to the ClioWeb InterLibrary Loan form. Enter your information, and a librarian will obtain a copy of the article and deliver it to you.
When the article is ready, you will receive notification that your article has arrived through electronic delivery. Your article will be available daily after 8AM, 12PM, 4PM, and 8PM. If you would like to receive your article in a hard copy you may request to pick it up at the Circulation Desk.
If you are not able to access your article electronically, please call the Interlibrary Loan Office at 549-2362.
Getting started with your search:
A keyword search looks for one or more complete words that are contained anywhere in a record, including: titles, people, places, notes, abstracts, summaries, descriptions, and subjects. This type of search is a good substitute for a subject search when you don't know the authorized subject heading form. You can enter words in upper or lower case, and if you use multiple words you can enter them in any order.
Your search results can contain a range of items related to your keyword(s) search:
Subject headings describe the content of each item in a database. Use these headings to find relevant items on the same topic. Searching by subject headings (a.k.a descriptors) is the most precise way to search databases.
What you need to know about subject headings, also commonly referred to as subheadings:
A phrase search uses quotation marks to allow an exact match to the phrase searched. This can be a title or keyword search, and can include two or more words. For example:
Boolean operators allow you to group, include, or exclude certain terms in your search. You can use these operators:
| Operator | Description | A search like the following... | Will return these results... | |
| AND (uppercase), or the plus sign + |
This is the default search operator. The database will search using the word "AND" or the plus sign to find all of the words typed in the search box. Note: Any search for terms without an operator will return items with all the words. |
guns AND germs AND steel guns + germs + steel |
with all of the words entered in the search box: guns, germs, steel | |
| OR (uppercase), or the | symbol | The use of the word "OR", or the | symbol, will search for either of the words listed in the search box. |
costume OR fashion costume | fashion |
for any of the words entered in the search box with results that will include either terms, but not necessarily both: costume OR fashion |
|
| NOT (uppercase), or the minus sign - | The word "NOT" or the minus sign will exclude terms from your search. |
Paris NOT fashion Paris - fashion |
for Paris, but not fashion | |
|
To search for an exact phrase, the search terms should be enclosed in quotation marks. | "The Grapes of Wrath" | where all words are located directly next to each other in the search results | |
|
parentheses ( ) |
Use parentheses to create more precise searches. | dog (walking OR feeding OR grooming) |
dog walking dog feeding dog grooming |
Truncation allows you to search for a term and its variations by entering a minimum of the first three letters of the term followed by a question mark symbol (?) or an asterisk (*).
Examples:
| This search... | Returns items whose record contains the following: |
| securit* |
security securities securitization |
| invest* |
investor invested investing investiture investment |
Wildcards are special characters used to represent additional characters in a search term. They are useful when you are unsure of spelling, when there are alternate spellings, or when you only know part of a term. You can use these two wildcards:
Pound sign (#): The pound sign, also called a number sign or hash mark, represents a single character.
Example:
Question mark (?): The question mark represents any number of additional characters. Include a number if you know the maximum number of characters the wildcard will replace.
Example:
Stop words are frequently occurring, insignificant words that appear in a database record, article or web page.
Common stop words include: a, an, the, in, of , on, are, be, if, into, which
Why stop words matter?
"Open Access" describes all information (books, articles, journals, databases, and datasets) made freely available online, with few copyright restrictions. Open Access resources do not require users to log in or subscribe. They are marked with an orange padlock symbol wherever they appear in CSU-Pueblo's research guides.
Maintaining a record of your search is is a good way to ensure the completeness of your research. A systematic strategy of recording searches helps you to assess the changes to your searches as your research progresses, and it helps others replicate your searches for their own systematic reviews of the subject.
Many databases, including SuperSearch, provide features to help you document your searches when logged in. It is worthwhile to create an account in databases to save your searches and set up search alerts.
Saved searches retain the information from searches you've already done. Some databases allow you to export the information from saved searches easily. However, not all databases retain static records of the searches. That is, the results from a search you do today will not be available in a year; the database will perform the same search again, with the most recent available results.
Search alerts notify you when new content is available within your search parameters. This feature can be useful to keep you informed about your research topic while saving you the time of redoing searches every few weeks or months.
In your documentation of the various searches, you'll need to register the following:
In hand-searching (looking through journal contents by hand), take note of the source and the year.
Helps keep track of your searches. Developed at the University of Canberra (Australia) for PRISMA 2009 Flow Design.
This source is intended for use by researchers or students in the discipline and supports conducting in-depth research. Often contains industry specific vocabulary, extensive citations, original research or a new discovery, and are peer-reviewed. The author usually has academic credentials and the article is published by a reputable and respected publication. Scholarly sources or typically organized into formal categories, including: abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion.
Shorter articles intended for a general audience of readers since the information is usually easier to understand. This type of resource is helpful for finding information about current events or issues. Popular sources range from neutral research-oriented (without complete citations) to special interest, agenda-driven publications. They are not peer-reviewed, but there may be a fact-checking process. It is not as easy to judge the quality and accuracy of information you find in popular sources compared to scholarly sources.
Trade Publications (or Trade Magazine Articles) are an essential source intended to share general news, trends and opinions among professionals within a specific industry or trade. Although generally written by experts, this type of source is not considered scholarly. They are not peer-reviewed and do not focus on advancing new discoveries or reporting research results.
Original research refers to scholarship written to expand a field of knowledge. It usually involves experiments and observation, answering a question not addressed in the field. Sometimes referred to as primary resources, original research is the first place the study has been discussed.
Review Articles are discussions of the state of the field at the time the review was written and are secondary sources. For example, climate change scientists in 2017 want to know about studies of sea ice in the past twenty years, so they can avoid duplicating studies, and so they can position their own work to make a meaningful contribution to climate science. Review articles discuss many different studies, explaining how the field has changed, what areas the field has addressed thoroughly, and what areas of study are still missing.
Grey literature are materials and research produced by organizations outside of traditional commercial or academic publishing. They can include reports, policy literature, working papers (pre-publication versions of academic articles, book chapters, or reviews), newsletters, government documents, speeches, conference proceedings, theses and dissertations, maps, white papers (in-depth report or guide about a specific topic), urban plans, etc. Grey literature is a good source of recent research in different disciplines. This type of resource is produced by industry or government agencies, private companies, or academia. Grey literature is not peer reviewed, but may provide reliable information.