Now that you are familiar with some common terms you will encounter when looking for articles, let's look at some of the places where you can find articles:
Omni is a powerful tool that searches content from multiple databases and brings all the results into one place for you. It offers filters to narrow down your results to those you really want.
Omni searches within database and full text publications, and it will locate a good deal of the scholarly articles you need. One of the benefits of using Omni is that it’s connected to the Library’s subscriptions—so with the default search settings, you should be able to access the full text of most articles you find. However, Omni doesn't have the same controlled and subject-focused searching you can find with specific databases.
You can search within a specific journal to find articles on a topic that you are interested in. Using our Journal Search, you can browse journals by category or search for a specific journal depending on your topic of interest.
This might be a good option if there is a highly reputable journal within a specific field that you're looking to find articles on. However, searching within a journal might mean that you're missing a lot of other articles that might be relevant to your topic of interest.
For many advanced researchers, searching within databases is usually a great option, as many of them provide you with more precise searching tools, depending on your informational needs. It is important to note that databases differ in terms of depth of coverage and ease of use.
For instance, ProQuest One Business has a strong business focus, whereas Google Scholar finds articles on a myriad of interdisciplinary topics.
It is also good to know that databases aren’t limited to what the Library subscribes to. They can help you discover valuable content beyond the Library's collection. If you come across an article that isn’t available through Trent, don’t worry—you can usually request it through the Library’s resource sharing services.
If you're not sure which database to search, our research guides are a great place to help you identify relevant databases for finding articles on your topic.
Sometimes, you will find yourself reading something (such as a textbook or research article) that contains a statement of interest to you, cited from a different resource. Or perhaps, you're scouring through the reference list of a resource you were reading, and you find an article that catches your eye. Citations within scholarly works are a great way to find relevant articles on a topic of interest.
In addition to looking backward at reference lists or cited sources, you can also follow the scholarly conversation forward in time. Omni and many databases (like Google Scholar) allow you to see which newer articles have cited the one you're reading. This can help you find more recent research, see how ideas have evolved, and explore how scholars are building on earlier work. Look for links that say "Times Cited" or "Cited by" or "Citing articles" or "Find Sources Citing This".
Once you have a citation, you can use this information to pull up the actual resource. Read the tab entitled "Navigating from a Citation to the Article" to learn more about how you can use a citation to find the full article.