Skip to Main Content

Library Basics - Online Edition

Need to find resources for your paper or project? Here's a quick guide that will introduce you to some of the basic resources that you can use for your paper or project. This Online Edition focuses on just the resources that the library provides online.

Though you can simply just get the full text of the article and limit your use of the database, using abstracts and article information can greatly help in your hunt for the perfect article.

  • Abstracts:  Abstracts provide a brief summary of the article. This short summary is designed to help you ascertain if an article is relevant without having to skim or read the article. There are two ways to view an abstract:
    • Magnifying Glass: Click on the magnifying glass near the article you want. Magnifying glass This will then bring up a box that will then information on the article--including the abstract: Abstract when clicking magnifying glass
    • Clicking on Title: If you click on the title, you'll see a page with information about the article along with an abstract (if the database includes an abstract): Article information after clicking on article title
  • Article Information: In addition to providing an abstract, the article information page (when gotten by clicking on the article title) also provides other information about the article--things like subjects, keywords, etc.  Look especially at the subject terms. Look at the subject terms to see if you want to revise your search.  Also, combine two or more search terms together. A search for "Religion AND Hamlet AND Belief & Doubt" will provide more useful results than something like "the role of Christianity in determining what truth is in Hamlet."

Abstracts & Article information from Kevin Blowers on Vimeo.