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Finding and Evaluating Resources

Finding and Evaluating an Article

Databases or Indexes

To find periodical articles on a given subject, you might want to use OneSearch and search through most of the University's available databases.  Many of the articles you find will be full-text but some will be citations only without the article itself.  You might also have a book or one good article that has a bibliography but no link to full text. Refer to as much of the citation information as you have (below) to find the full text.  

  • Title/author of the article
  • Source: the full title of the periodical
  • Volume and issue number
  • Date of publication
  • Page numbers of the article

Where Are the Periodicals You Need?

  1. Go to "Journal" to see if the journal you need is available in print at the library or online through a full text database. Type in the TITLE OF THE JOURNAL.  If the title is listed in a full text database, click on the link and you should find the title you need or be able to search for your article in that database. More than two thirds of the library's periodicals are in electronic format rather than paper.
  2. If the title is listed as "In the Atrium - Periodicals" you can go look or do a journal title searching the online catalog to verify we have the issue you need. If you have trouble, ask for help at the Navigation Desk.

If the Library has the volume and issue you need, go to the Atrium on the ground floor and you can read, scan or photocopy the article.  If the volume and issue you need are not in the catalog or "Journal" page, you can request that the library order the article for you on the Document Delivery articles page.

To see if another library in France might have the journal  you want you can check:

Periodical Locations In The University Library

You will find the latest paper (hard copy) issues of the Library's periodicals in the Atrium on the ground floor.

They are shelved alphabetically by title in open stacks, which means that you can retrieve them without assistance from the library staff.

Electronic editions of many periodicals are available through various online services such as Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe and Wilson OmniFile Fulltext. These titles may not always be listed in the catalog. Check the "Journal" page to see what titles are available electronically or ask to see a Reference Librarian if you do not find what you need.

Checking Out Periodicals

Periodicals do not circulate and must be used within the Library only.

Printing Articles

Self-service photocopying machines for paper copies are available or you can scan articles for free and email or save them.

Copyright Warning: You may use photocopies of articles for research or private study only. It is against international copyright laws to reproduce an entire work.

Evaluating

Students may wonder: how do I know if my sources are reliable and appropriate for the work I am doing in my course? One technique that can help is to ask some questions about the information you are using. For example:

  • Who is the author?
  • Are the author's credentials (education or experience) related to the subject?
  • Does the information seem current?  What is the copyright date?
  • Are statements or ideas supported by references, notes or citations(look at bibliographies) that can be checked?
  • Does the material seem to be targeting a specific audience (students, academics, business persons, general public?)
  • Can you determine if the material is scholarly material or popular material?