Research Guides: KINE150: Public Health & the Pandemic: Finding Journal Articles

What is a Database?

What is a database?

The library databases contain journal articles and other scholarly information. Sometimes a database will contain the entire journal article, and sometimes it will only contain an abstract. Databases are searchable by subject, keyword, author, and more. They can be seen as the tool that you use to search and access scholarly publications, such as peer-reviewed journal articles.

Search the W&M Libraries Catalog

Finding Journal Articles

Best Bets

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Multidisciplinary database of journal articles (including peer reviewed), books, book chapters, reports, conference proceedings, etc. Coverage: 1887-present.
MEDLINE This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Medical topics relating to research, clinical practice, administration, policy issues, dentistry, nursing, and health care. Citations to journal articles, from the US National Library of Medicine. See also PubMed. Vendor: Proquest. Coverage: 1940-present.
Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
Google Scholar is a freely accessible web search engine that indexes the full text or metadata of scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines.

How to get W&M access through Google Scholar
Here's one handy set of instructions for always having W&M access through Google Scholar, whether you're on campus or not. Set it up in your browser once, and it should stay with you throughout your college career.

Accessing Articles

How to Access Articles

You may notice that the database doesn't always provide you with a PDF of the article -- sometimes it will just give you an abstract. In that situation look for the "Find it @ W&M' button, which will take you back through our library website to get you access to the article.

If it's something that we don't have, you can request it by interlibrary loan. They'll send a PDF of the article straight to your inbox, typically within a few days!

Not Sure About That Article?

2019 Novel Coronavirus Research Compendium (NCRC)
Johns Hopkins School of Public Health has a really great site that reviews scholarly articles to give a sense of how significant and trustworthy the study is.

Constructing a good search

Not finding anything?

Try a different database! You can find our full list of library databases on Swem's website.
Try different search terms! Not finding anything for "socioeconomic status"? Try a synonym like "income" or a related concept like "income disparity".
Ask a librarian! You can make a research appointment for some one-on-one help, chat with us when the research desk is open, drop on by for a visit, or even shoot us an email. We love to help!

Liz Bellamy

she/her/hers

Email Me

Contact:

Swem Library, Room 127

757-221-3076

Subjects: American Studies, English, Linguistics