Step 1. Enter your search.

• Each index has its own search rules. Check the Help Screens in the index you are using to see how it works.
• Define your topic and be specific: Example: Does violence in computer games cause aggression in children?
• Identify key words or phrases in your topic: Example:   violence     computer games    aggression     children
• Prepare your search statement.
  • To connect separate concepts use the connector: AND Example: violence and computer games and aggression and children
  • Eliminate minor words when searching, such as: a, an, the, with. Example: internet, not the internet
  • Use all lower case letters to save time. Example: nintendo, not Nintendo
  • To search for a phrase many indexes require that you enclose the phrase with quotes. Check the Help Screens in the index you are using. Most common example: "computer games"
  • Some full text databases allow you to search for words in the entire article. In that case it is advisable to indicate that you want the words to appear near one another as opposed to far apart in the article. Example from LexisNexis:aggression w/10 children (aggression and children must appear within 10 words of each other)
• If you get no hits as a result of your search, consider broadening your search with the following techniques:
• Include both singular and plural forms, or variant endings of a word by using the truncation or "wildcard" symbol. This symbol varies from index to index so you will need to check the Help Screens. Some common truncation symbols are the asterisk (*), exclamation mark (!), or question mark (?). Example: aggress* will retrieve the words aggression or aggressive or aggressiveness
• Include similar or related terms by using the connector: OR. Example: aggression or anger. Note: To include both AND, OR in your search you must "nest" the terms being connected with OR by including parentheses. This will direct the index to interpret your search correctly: Example: violence and computer games and (aggression or anger) and children
• You may have to eliminate one or more concepts or terms, and search for articles on a more general topic. Example: violence and "computer games" and children, rather than violence and "computer games" and children and aggression
• If you find a good article: See if it suggests other search words, also called search terms, descriptors, or subject headings, that you can use to either focus your search or look for more articles related to your topic.

Step 2. Display the article or its record.

• If your search retrieves a list of articles, click on the article title you want to get its citation: article title, author, journal title containing the article, volume, date, and page numbers.
• The record may also include an abstract or summary and sometimes the full text of the article. If the article you have selected can be displayed full-text, display it. Then you can print it or email it to yourself.
• If it does not display full text, you will need to locate the magazine or journal, that contains your article, in the library. If the citation contains a link that automatically searches the WestCat online catalog to see if the library contains the journal, click on the link. Otherwise, print out or write down the citation and go to the next step.

Step 3. Find the magazine or journal - use WestCat, WMU's library catalog, to find the call number or URL.

Overview:

• Conduct a "Quick Search" on the WestCat opening screen by clicking on the box and typing the name of the journal that contains the article you need (e.g. Journal of Southern History). Omit initial articles such as A, An, The.
• Select "Journal Title" in the pull-down menu and click on "Go".
• If more than one title appears, look in the "Complete Title" column and click on the journal title that most closely matches.

Journals in Print:

• Note the coverage (when the library started getting the journal and the latest issues received) under "Library Has:" and "Current Issues". Write down the location in the WMU Libraries and call number of the magazine or journal.
• In Waldo Library, current issues of magazines and journals are shelved by call number on the Lower Level in the Current Periodicals area.
• Older issues are shelved by call number in the General Stacks. The Waldo Library map shows where call numbers are located in the library.

Electronic Journals:

• If the journal is an electronic journal, WestCat will provide a URL link labeled "Web Link". Click on the URL to access the journal online.
• Note the coverage (specific volumes, issues, and dates) available for the journal.

Step 4. If you cannot find a journal title in WestCat

If you cannot find a journal title in WestCat, try the WMU Libraries Electronic Journal List . This tool will help you find out if the journal title that you need is available in full text in any of the many indexes/databases that the Libraries make available.

Step 5. If a journal title is not available through any of the above means.

If a journal title is not available through any of the above means and the article it contains is important to your research, use the interlibrary loan service to obtain it. Allow 10 business days for delivery of the article.

For more complete instruction on Finding Article, visit the Searchpath tutorial.