This page gives the top resources for finding articles in your subject. This can include scholarly or peer-reviewed articles as well as articles from magazines and other non-scholarly publications.
It is not a full list of what CSULA has to offer, use the links below to access the full range of materials.
Sometimes called scholarly, peer-reviewed, academic, or even "refereed', these terms all refer to journals that require review by a group of experts in the field before an article can be published. These experts are looking for things like appropriate methodology, proper research and citations, advancements to the field, etc. These articles are typically for other scholars with a high level of knowledge in the area of publication. The purpose is typically to advance the field of study and share developments made by scholars.
Look for the option in databases to narrow your search by peer-reviewed, scholarly, or ‘refereed’
Learn more about the process video from the University of Kansas: Peer Review In Three Minutes
Popular articles are written for a general audience. These articles can inform, entertain, give the opinions of individuals, talk about current events, sell products, or generate money. News, magazines, blogs, social media, TV shows, opinion articles, and many kinds of websites fit into this category.
Trade or professional journals are intended to share practice information with professionals and practitioners in a profession. These articles are usually chosen for publication by an editor and not a group of experts. They may also include advertisements and flashy images that you don't usually see in peer-reviewed journals.
Library databases don't search using full sentences. Instead, use keywords to search to get the best result. Keywords are the essential words in your research question that focus on the main concepts you are interested in. Other words are non-essential to searching. The keywords are highlighted in the research question below:
Research question: What is the connection between race and police brutality?
Connecting words and other search tricks
Using connecting words like AND, OR, & NOT can help you find what you are looking for.
Learn more about using and generating keywords with this tutorial from Cal State University Dominguez Hills: Developing Keywords
With Google Scholar you can search across many disciplines and sources: articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other web sites.
Be sure to link Google Scholar to the Cal State LA Library to get free access to many library resources. To do this from the Google Scholar homepage, click on Settings in the upper-right corner, or from the menu. Click on "Library Links" on the left. Type in "CSULA" or "Cal State Los Angeles" and then check the box that says "Cal State LA - Find it @ Cal State LA". Now your results will link to the library's resources.
When looking for information on a topic searching Databases or the library's OneSearch are typically the best and most efficient methods. However, if you are interested in keeping up with a specific journal or browsing issues below is a list of journals the University has full text access to. Most journals that CSULA does not have full or current access to are indexed (listed), and citations/abstracts of current articles are available in OneSearch.
If you find a journal article that is relevant to you, but the library doesn't have access to, we can get it for you from another library!
First-time users will need to create an account here.
Steps to Request:
