ENGL 128 Research Writing: Science, Engineering and Business (Frazier)

For students in Callae Frazier's English 128

Find Peer Reviewed and Scholarly Journals & Books

Video Tutorial on the Scholarly Conversation

This video tutorial created by a Holman Librarian talks about scholarship in all disciplines. It addresses:

  • Why scholarly literature exists - the unique purpose it serves
  • How a scholarly conversation advances our knowledge over time
  • How to find relevant scholarly literature
  • Strategies for reading scholarship
  • And how to cite it

Find Scholarly/ Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles in Holman Library Databases

Find scholarly journals articles not freely accessible on the internet.

Please note:

  • Databases may have a mix of scholarly and non-scholarly sources. 
  • Databases offer a mix of primary research and scholarly analysis.
  • Use appropriate filters, keywords, and subject terms and then assess your results.

Holman Library One Search

The Library One Search searches in all library databases at once. This can be useful, but it can also return less relevant results.

  • Tip: Academic Search Complete and ProQuest are better sources of useful Subject Terms.
  • Tip: The One Search defaults to full text only. To learn about additional potentially useful sources that you can borrow with ILL, check the box: Include results with no online full text.

Multidisciplinary Databases

Subject Databases: Science & Engineering

Subject Databases: Healthcare

Subject Databases: Business

Advanced Searching Tips

Choosing to use multiple, simple keywords is a great way to search in the library's databases. In the image below, you can see the following tips highlighted

  • Be sure to slowly build a focused search with relevant search terms; make sure your spelling is correct!
  • Use AND to narrow and focus. Example: concussion AND children
  • Use OR for an alternative term. Example: concussion OR traumatic brain injury
  • When you see an article that may be promising, read the abstract to determine the relevance and to help you select articles to read as a part of your research. Look through many additional abstracts to get a sense of the scholarly conversation on your topic!
  • You can check the "full-text" option if you need to access articles immediately. However, you can also leave this unchecked to see more article options. That is, you can see results for articles that GRC might have in other databases or articles you can request through interlibrary loan.  

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screenshot of a search in academic search - showing the points outlined in the text above the image

Holman Library Journals List

Search for a specific academic journal title or browse by subject:

Find Scholarly Books & Book Chapters

Wondering what to type in the search box?

  • Be as specific as possible for better results. For example
    • medicine is a broad search that generates 1224 results.
    • "alternative medicine" is a narrower search that generates 56 results.
    • acupuncture is even narrower and yields 18 results.

To be certain a book is scholarly:

  • Check the author(s)' credentials, the editor, and publisher. Look for academic credentials and affiliations. 
  • Check to see if the research and analysis are meticulously cited. Look for in-text citations and a full references list. 
  • Use Subject Terms to find the most specific and academic sources.
  • It's easy to check ebooks! For print, you need to open the book to know for certain. 
Holman Library One Search (print & eBook)
Search eBook Collections

Google Scholar

Google Scholar can be a useful tool for expanding research beyond the library collection.

Google Scholar Search

How to Use Google Scholar 

Google Scholar can be a useful resource for finding additional articles on a topic. You may not always get free, immediate access to the content it shows you, but Google Scholar can be a great place to get started on a project or to look once you've explored Holman Library databases. 

Here are some features as highlighted in the image below.

  • You can click on the title of an article to read the abstract and information about where the article was published.
  • By clicking on the small quotation mark icon that appears under the article, you can see a list of citations, in various citation styles including MLA and APA, for the source. Be sure to check these against a style guide as they may be incorrect or incomplete.
  • You can limit by date, or a date range to ensure you're finding the most relevant content - and depending on your topic, that might be important.
  • If the article is freely available online, there is often a PDF icon and link off to the left. 
  • And, if in your settings, you select GRC as one of your libraries, the results page will even note and link you to articles housed in the GRC library databases. 
  • You can request any articles that you learn about here, but are not given full-text access to, through Interlibrary Loan. Use the links for more information about this process or talk to a librarian if you need help!

(click on image to enlarge)screenshot of the results page of a search in Google Scholar with arrows pointing to the tools mentioned in the text before the image

Requesting items from other libraries

You can have articles or books sent to you from other libraries by using an Interlibrary Loan (ILL) Request.
  • Most articles requested by ILL come as a digital copy, and you'll receive the article as an attachment in an email. (Typically 2-3 business days.)
  • If the item is difficult to locate or an item that needs to be mailed (like a book), the request can take longer-- usually 1-2 weeks.
  • Make sure to give yourself enough time for the item to arrive before your assignment is due.

Filling out the ILL form

  1. Go to the Holman Library's Interlibrary Loan page and select "Student Request Form." Log in with your first and last name and your Green River student ID number:

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image of the log in page for ILL requests

2. Select the type of item you are requesting. (If you found the item through Google Scholar, it is often a Journal Article):

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ILL format selection screen

3. Use the information you find on the article's abstract or citation page to fill out the ILL request form:

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article ILL request how-to
 

4. Finish filling out the ILL form and click the Submit Requests button at the bottom. When your item arrives, the library will contact you:

  • A digital article will be emailed as an attachment to your Green River email account (youremail@student.greenriver.edu).
  • A book or other physical item will be held for you at the Holman Library's Circulation Desk. You will receive an email at Green River email account (youremail@student.greenriver.edu) notifying you it has arrived and is ready for you to pick up.  

Why Scholarly Articles & Books

Why read scholarly literature? 

Scholarly journals advance knowledge in a field of study.

Some features of scholarly literature:
  • Identify problems and issues to be researched

  • Provide an overview of existing knowledge on the topic - and gaps in existing approaches

  • Reports of original research and/or analysis

  • Authored by credentialed experts in the scholarly field

  • In-depth analysis of topics

Elements of Scholarly Works:
  • Abstract that summarizes the article and each section of study. Read to determine relevance and for a road map of the whole study

  • Explanation of methodology and materials

  • Discussion of study and results

  • Literature Cited section

  • In-text citations or notes

  • Use technical vocabulary

And as a final note, books can be scholarly too!

Compare Info Types

Read the Peer Review process for Journal of Ecology. Why does it matter that this is a peer reviewed journal?