Social Work Research Guide

Finding Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

When it comes to searching for scholarly, peer-reviewed articles, you have 3 main options: 

1. OneSearch - use the library's discovery tool on the library homepage to find articles (as well as books and other library resources). 

2. Recommended Databases - search one or more of these individually to focus your results. Each database provides access to different journals.

3. Google Scholar - cast a wide net and search for articles across the web; just remember to change your settings so that you get access to the full text!

Try more than one of the options above. No one is better than another, but they may yield different results. Each is described in detail below. 

1. Start on the library homepage, and in the OneSearch box, enter the keywords for your topic and click Articles. 
Hint: Keep your keywords simple and avoid any unnecessary language (e.g. and, the, of, about, effects, influence, etc...). A quick search on Wikipedia can often help you find search terms that you can use to look for articles. Make a list of synonyms and related terms and use those in your search. 

2. The next page will display your results.  On the left side of the screen, click the option for Peer Reviewed Journals.  Articles with full text will display an "online full text available" link.  Articles without full text can be requested through Interlibrary Loan. 

Google Scholar is a great tool for finding scholarly content, including journal articles. Google Scholar crawls the table of contents of scholarly publications and links to the full text when available. In order to get access to more articles in full text, be sure to change your settings to include content that the Cal Poly Humboldt Library has purchased for you to access. Otherwise, unless an article is Open Access, you will likely be asked to purchase the article. 

1. First, click on the "Settings" link in Google Scholar. 

2. Then, click on "Library Links." 

3. Next, search for "Cal Poly Humboldt" and check the box next to "Cal Poly Humboldt - Find It @ Humboldt" and click "Save." 

4. Now, when you do a search in Google Scholar, you will see an extra link either below or to the right of the article citation (you may need to click on "More" to see it). 

5. The Find it @ Humboldt link will tell you where to access the full text if we have it or will link you to interlibrary loan to request it (may take up to 2 weeks, but most arrive much quicker). Keep in mind that most of the library's articles are available electronically through the databases but there are some that are in print or microfilm. Stop by the Research Help Desk on the first floor of the library if you need help finding these articles.