PHHA 425 - Health Research Guide

This link will show you how to limit your search to scholarly journals, to find only articles available online in full text and how to limit by date of publication.

Make full use of limiters. Each database is different but in general databases will have some variation of the following limiters. Select "Full Text" to see currently available items if time is immediate. If Full Text is not selected you may need to use Interlibrary Services. Update the year for more current research.  

Here are some suggestions for reading scholarly journal articles:

• Scan the article first.  Read the abstract, introduction and conclusions. Determine if it is relevant to your research before you commit to reading it all the way through.
• Determine the author's argument.  You can often figure this out from the title, but it should be clear by the end of the introduction.
• Consider the methodology.  What kind of research did the author do? Is this research sufficient and appropriate for the subject matter?
• Look at citations.  Remember, scholarly writing is a conversation. The references, generally found after the article text, point you toward the other people involved in the conversation. Track down the referenced articles to learn more.
• Take notes.  Write down key concepts, even if it is just a sentence or two. This helps to cement the article's finding in your memory, and helps you organize your research.
• Keep records of what you have read.  Collect citations in a notebook, document or citation management software such as EndNote. This will help you keep track of what you have read and be ready to properly cite the articles you use in a paper.
• For other tips check this: https://www.brandeis.edu/acserv/studyskills/ReadingScholarlyandJournalArticles.pdf

Many databases have the above tools. You can usually email yourself a copy of the article or record, save full text articles, send yourself the permanent link and/or use the citation provided by the database. Make sure to double check the citation as they are computer generated and may have mistakes.