Library Guides: Computing and Information Systems: Find Articles

Important Scholarly Databases

Try these databases first to find scholarly articles in Computing and Information Systems.

Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Digital Library This link opens in a new window
- Access to a indexes and abstracts of research papers, journals, and conference proceedings in the field of computer science and information technology, catering to the needs of researchers, professionals, and students worldwide.

ARXIV.ORG
Open access to 776,050 e-prints in Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Quantitative Biology, Quantitative Finance and Statistics

IEEE Electronic Library (IEL) This link opens in a new window
- Access to full-text documents in the fields of electrical engineering, computer science, and electronics.
- Includes journals, transactions, letters, magazines, conference proceedings, and standards.
- Includes access to the full-text of IEEE content published since 1988 with select content published since 1872.
Web of Science Core Collection This link opens in a new window
- A multidisciplinary indexing database that indexes peer-reviewed journal articles, conference proceedings, and other scholarly content across a wide range of scientific and academic disciplines including the social sciences, and arts and humanities.

Other Useful Databases

Academic Search Elite This link opens in a new window
- Contains peer-reviewed journals, magazines, and newspapers across various academic disciplines.
Scholars Portal Journals This link opens in a new window
- An index of academic journals across various disciplines. It provides metadata and links to full-text articles, facilitating efficient searches for scholarly content.

ARXIV.ORG
Open access to 776,050 e-prints in Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Quantitative Biology, Quantitative Finance and Statistics

CPI.Q Canadian Periodicals (Gale OneFile) This link opens in a new window
- Gale OneFile Canadian Periodical Index provides access to a wide range of Canadian magazines, journals, and newspapers covering diverse topics such as current events, culture, business, health, and more.
Canadian Business and Current Affairs Database (CBCA) This link opens in a new window
- Canada's largest and most comprehensive bibliographic full-text reference and current events database, providing access to scholarly journals, trade publications, magazines, reports, radio and television transcripts, news, dissertations, and more from a Canadian perspective spanning various subject areas such as business, economics, politics, arts, sports, and more.

Tutorials

Omni Guide
A guide for using the Omni search tool.
Tutorial: Keyword Searching
A short tutorial providing background on how keyword searching works, with tips to improve your search results. Estimated reading time: 10 minutes.
Finding Articles
Recognizing Scholarly Resources: JABsa
A tutorial on how to avoid using "popular" articles and know when you've found scholarly ones.
Tutorial: Scholarly Articles
Scholarly articles: what they are, how to find, recognize, read, and use them. Includes exercises. Estimated reading time: 20 minutes.
Using Google, Google Scholar and Other Internet Search Engines
A guide on using internet search engines, with a section on using Google Scholar and setting it to recognize you as a Trent student.

Troubleshooting Searches

Too few articles:

Check for typos and spelling. Consider using both American and British spellings (eg. behaviour or behavior).
Remove long phrases.
Make sure you're using a database that is likely to include information on your topic.
Try using other synonyms and alternate words joined by the Boolean Operator 'OR' (e.g. aboriginal or indigenous or First Nations).
Check your Boolean logic. Are you using 'AND' when you should be using 'OR'?
If you have found at least one good article, look at the references of this article to find other related articles OR use the 'Find citing' or 'Find related' buttons when available in the databases.

Too many articles:

Add another concept to your searching using the Boolean operator 'AND'.
Add Limits (e.g. Peer Reviewed, Date of Publication, Language, Publication Type, etc.).
Check your Boolean logic. Are you using 'OR' when you should be using 'AND'?
When Keyword searching, try searching just in the Title field. This is not recommended for all searches, as you will eliminate relevant articles that don't have those keywords in the title, but it will likely find a few articles to get you started.
If you're searching in a database that covers all subjects (e.g. Academic Search Elite, Web of Knowledge), look for a database that is subject specific.

Search

Library Catalogue
The Library Catalogue holds the bibliographic records of the Trent University Library holdings. These include books, maps, journal subscriptions.
Databases A-Z
A searchable A-Z listing of our indexes and databases.
Journal Search
Search the Trent Library's database of online journals available through our various full-text databases.

What is Interlibrary Loan?

Interlibrary loan is a system that allows you to request material from other libraries to be sent to Trent for you to borrow. Normally, there are no costs to use the ILL service. Plan ahead because it can take a few days or even weeks for material to be sent, depending upon availability.

Visit the Interlibrary Loan page for more information.