Searching for Articles in Journals
There are several ways to search for journal articles. You can start with UC Library Search, using the Articles, Books and more option, which searches all the databases the UCLA Library subscribes to. Or you can go to a specific database, such as APA PsycINFO, Academic Search Complete, PubMed, etc.
In either case, start with a keyword search using words relevant to your topic. When you see some articles that look interesting, click on the title to see the complete citation. If there are subject terms or descriptors, click on those that seem related to your topic to get other articles on the subject.
Databases that Index Journal Articles
This is a very select list of available article databases. If you want to look for others, go to this page and click through to your discipline (political science, sociology, history, etc.). Here you will find a selection of the most useful databases for each discipline listed.
- Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new windowA multidisciplinary database that indexes over 10,000 publications, with the complete text of over 5,500 periodicals, including a mix of peer-reviewed journals, magazines, and newspapers.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Full text back issues of core scholarly journals, browsable and searchable across multiple disciplines. Coverage starts with first issue, with moving wall for most recent 3-5 years. UCLA has access to selected JSTOR e-books only. JSTOR also includes primary source collections, including images from Artstor.
- Periodicals Archive Online (PAO) This link opens in a new window
Full text access to international, scholarly literature in the arts, humanities and social sciences journals from the first issue to 2005 or ceased date that indexed are in the Periodicals Index Online. This is a static collection, and there may be some missing issues/gaps for specific titles.
- Project MUSE This link opens in a new window
Full text of current issues (from about 1990) of scholarly journals published by university presses, chiefly in the arts, humanities and social sciences. Browsable by discipline and full-text searchable across all disciplines. UCLA has access to Muse e-books published from 2017-present, plus a selected number of other e-book titles.
- Web of Science This link opens in a new window
A multidisciplinary database, with searchable author abstracts, covering the journal literature of most disciplines. Indexes major journals with all cited references captured. Combines the following citation databases: Science Citation Index Expanded; Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI); Arts & Humanities Citation Index (A&HCI); Conference Proceedings Citation Index.
- MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new windowIndexes worldwide publications on literature, language, linguistics, folklore, film, television, and theater from 1923 to the present. See also the MLA Directory of Periodicals.
- Literature Online This link opens in a new windowAlso known as LION. An array of literary databases (including the full text of poems, plays, and fiction), reference works (including bibliographies, encyclopedias, etc.), and links to other Web resources for the study of literature. The complete text of journal articles is available on the database for all or some of the journals indexed. Fully searchable texts of over 250,000 works in English and American Literature.
Article Search Tips
This quick introduction to searching for academic journal articles in databases will help you make your searches more efficient and more effective:
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Few of us can recall every detail and argument from academic articles - they’re packed with so much information! It’s best to create reading strategies that help you focus on comprehending the most essential elements of an academic article. Breaking Down Academic Articles is a webcomic tutorial that walks you through the most important aspects of an academic article, to help you prepare for class discussion on the article(s) or take away essential information from the article to support future research.
Note: a transcript for each slide can be located at the bottom of each slide. Click the button to preview transcript of slide for description of art in each panel and the script of tutorial guide.
Looking for an efficient way to get a research overview on a topic? A review article is a great place to start.
A review article provides an analysis of the state of research on a set of related research questions. Review articles often: summarize key research findings, reference must-read articles, describe current areas of agreement as well as controversies and debates, point out gaps in knowledge and unanswered questions, suggest directions for future research.
Check out this quick overview of finding review articles in Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, and more.
The Library's online subscription resources can always be accessed from computers and wireless networks on campus. However, off-campus access is restricted to current UCLA, students, faculty, and staff who have set up their computer using one of the following methods.
VPN on Mac with Natalie
"I chose VPN for my mac because I need to be able to access the full text of articles on different browsers." - Natalie, Environmental ScienceDownload a UCLA VPN
VPN on Windows with Michael
"I chose VPN because I like the security it provides and the control it gives me as a user to manually enable or disable it when I'm browsing online." - Michael, Public AffairsDownload a UCLA VPN
Additional Platforms
For more information:
- UCLA OnLine Proxy ServerA simple browser setting which will automatically divert you to a UCLA logon page when you first access a restricted site.
- Virtual Private Networking (VPN)A program you can download and install, or use the built-in version on many computers or mobile devices. VPN software must be logged on manually before you access a restricted site, but works for all programs on your computer.