There are a number of different types of articles that you may want to find through the library, including news articles about current events, research articles published in peer reviewed journals, or articles in trade journals about the profession.
Research articles comprise a wide range of information and levels of evidence. Original research, or primary research, generally describes a report on a single experiment or study created, run, and analyzed by a single team. Secondary research is a literature review that aims to combine the results of multiple primary studies or assess the landscape of a body of literature.
If you use the library's links into databases, then your search results will recognize you as part of Washington State University and provide a link from each article record into the full text of the article. The database may provide immediate access into the full text of the article, in which case it will provide the article either in HTML format, PDF full text, or both. If the database does not provide access to the full text of the article, it will include a button or link that says "Find it @ WSU".
Click the "Find it @ WSU" button to be pulled into the library's subscriptions and find out where the article lives in our information environment.
If you find an article without using the library's links into our subscriptions, then you can either:
A database aggregates a digital collection of material, whether articles, books, or other formats. Traditionally, databases include the full text of articles, not just information about the article (metadata). The company that owns/runs the database subscribes to publishers to receive a variety of publications, and then bundles those subscriptions to be used by the end user (libraries and their patrons).
An index is a tool to find information about articles that may meet your information need. Traditionally, an index does not include the full text of articles, only information about the article (metadata).
Most of our aggregators are a database/index combination, so some articles will be available in full-text and others will simply have information such as Title/Abstract.
Journals can be searched for in two ways: by using SearchIt (the library catalog), or through BrowZine.
In Search It, search for the title of the journal. Then, limit results to Journals. This will provide a list of both print and eJournals in our collection. Click the title of the journal to see Access Options and physical locations. Journals may be found in either databases or directly from their publisher.
Search It is also a great way to look up article citations to identify how to access the full-text through our subscriptions. Enter the article title, and then click the article in the results list. This will provide you with Access Options in our online databases, or prompt you to "Get it for me" through interlibrary loan.
Click the link below to enter BrowZine and browse or search for journals. This link is configured to bring you into Biomedical and Health Sciences Journals, but you can click "All Categories" to view all journals. Please note that most (but not all) journals through WSU are available in this platform. You can also download and use the BrowZine mobile app on phone or other mobile device for easy access to journals on-the-go.