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Introduction to Research: Humanities and Social Sciences

Serchin Omni for Articles

Omni includes content from the various research databases to which QUL subscribes but not everything is included.

If you are looking for information on a very specific topic, or a topic that is subject specific, it is recommended that you search databases that specialize in that subject area for more thorough results.

Specific databases, e.g. America:History and Life; Historical Abstracts and Academic Search Complete, are supplied by the company ESCOhost, so only searching Omni for articles could be problematic.

Finding Articles

Articles are important in your research, especially for detailed and current information on a topic. They are found in a variety of publications including journals, magazines and newspapers.

If you don't have a specific article but want to find articles on a topic, you can search Omni or subject databases.

Find Articles using Omni 

Use the advanced search option to search keywords and select source type: Articles. 

You can modify your results by limiting your search results e.g. Peer Review Journals.

Find Articles in your Subject Area

If you are looking for information on a very specific topic, or a topic that is subject specific, it is recommended that you search databases that specialize in that subject area for more thorough results.

To select an appropriate database(s), go to Browse Databases by Subject of Research by Subject .If you are unsure as to what index you should use for your particular topic, contact your subject librarian or use ASK US.

How to Read a Citation

In the course of your research you will come across specific articles or journals you wish to locate. A citation is the information you will need to find the article in thelLibrary or to request a copy from another library.

Citations give you the title, author, journal title, volume and pages. Here is a sample of a journal citation

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How to Locate a Specific Article in Omni

A reference or citation to an article has two titles: title of the article and title of the periodical (journal, magazine or newspaper) in which the article is published.

In this citation, the title of the article is "Anti-Slavery and Feminism in Nineteenth-Century Britain" and the journal it is published in is Gender & History.

To determine if the article is available at Queen's, do the following search:

In the basic search box in Omni, search for the title of the article (in quotation marks) and add additional information such as the author's name and title of the periodical (if necessary), then click Search:

The article record should appear in the top of your search results where you can then click on the article record and access the full text of the article.

Click on the article title to go into the record, where you can learn of your options for accessing it. If you encounter an article that is not available at Queen's, you may request it through Omni (by selecting the option above all the filters to "add results beyond Queen's Library") or interlibrary loan.

Periodicals?

Periodicals are publications issued periodically or at regular intervals: daily, weekly, monthly, semiannually, etc.

Examples of periodicals include: scholarly or peer-reviewed journals, popular magazines, trade journals, and newspapers.   

See our page on evaluating journals to learn how to identify the difference between them.

Scholarly journals

Articles in scholarly journals are a critical source of authoritative information, as they contain the results of original academic research or experimentation. Scholarly journals are also referred to as "academic," "peer-reviewed," or "refereed" journals.

For more information, check our Scholar, Academic, Peer-Reviewed Guide.