Finding Articles 

These databases each cover a wide variety of subjects. You may want to start with EBSCO's Academic Search Complete, the world's largest multi-disciplinary article database with articles from 8,200+ publications; about 50% of articles are full-text. For tutorials and an EBSCO database instruction sheet, see the boxes below this one.

Print this easy-to-follow guide to the EBSCO databases, with screen shots and search tips. Written by SUNY Adirondack instruction librarian Joyce Miller.

Note: Most databases will create a citation for you. For the EBSCO databases, ion an article's description page, click the icons (Print, Email, Save) then choose the citation style (MLA, APA, etc.)

EBSCO Database Tutorials:   Listen to this 6-minute tutorial for time-saving tips on searching the library's many EBSCO article databases, such as Academic Search Complete, Business Resource Center or CINHAL. See this link for EBSCO's Integrated Search database tutorial, or this written version with screen shots for EBSCO's Integrated Search. For PowerPoints and more, see EBSCO's Tutorials link. 

ProQuest Tutorials: These are designed for specific ProQuest databases such as ABI/Inform, but shows the various feastures common to all proQuest databases, including the New York Times, New York Times Historical, and ProQuest Central. Narrated with a charming English accent.

WilsonSelectPlus: Try these Basic and Advanced tutorials created by the Alliance Libary System of Illinois. Offers good general search tips.

JSTOR Help - This links to a section of help sheets.

CQ Researcher: This two-page sheet describes the main search features of this database. which offers lengthy reports on current "hot topics" in the news.

These databases offer articles from several newspapers, magazines and journals. Mouse over them for a description.

What about Google Scholar?

Google Scholar is essentially a large listing of articles, with some duplication. A very small percentage of articles are full-text in Google Scholar itself. (Those would come from free journal Web sites.)

Here's the catch: Google Scholar will easily link you to full-text articles in the SUNY Adirondack Library's databases if you are using a campus computer to search. (Google Scholar uses IP address based authentication to know which databases are available to the searcher.)

After you do a search with an on-campus computer and review the citations, click the link "Full-Text @ ACC," and then "Article" on the next screen. This should link you into a library database with full-text access. The University of Alabama's Lister Library has created a narrated tutorial that is similiar to what you'd see using Google Scholar at SUNY Adirondack. See:
https://www.uab.edu/lister/research/nursing/tutorials/google_scholar_tutorial.htm

If you search for articles from off campus using Google Scholar, first go to the Scholar Preferences link and add "Adirondack Community College" (or,  SUNY Plattsburgh if you're a student there) under the Library Links option.

Then, when you click a full-text link, log on with your student username/password as usual to link to the library databases.

An advantage to Google Scholar is that it searches with a looser "keyword" method, not subject headings. So, if you have tried other databases with little success and have consulted with a librarian for search tips, Google Scholar could be useful for those "needle in a haystack" topics.

A warning: This Nov. 2009 article from Library Journal describes a weakness of Google Scholar: the parser software may incorrectly fill in the author information for an article. If you see an author by the name of Password, Subscribe, or other odd words, doublecheck the article's information in another database! A librarian can help you do this.

See the Google Scholar About pages for more details. At any point in your search, contact an ACC librarian for search pointers and to ask if an article is available full-text or through interlibrary-loan.

(search results open in a new window)