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

This guide is for students in Dan Weller's English 128

Find Scholarly and Professional articles in databases

Article Databases

These databases will help you find journal, magazine and newspapers articles that are often not freely accessible on the internet.

Note: Limit your search - either to Trade/Professional sources or to Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals.

  • Slowly build a focused search with relevant search terms. 
  • Use AND to narrow and focus
  • Use OR for alternative terms

Once you see the list of results, as outlined below.... 

  • Read the abstract to determine relevance and to help you select articles to read as part of your research. 
  • Peruse many additional abstracts to get a sense of the scholarly conversation on your topic.
  • Only check Full-Text if you want to see just the results you can immediately download. However, know that if we don't have the article in our collection, and you need it for your project, you may request it for free with Interlibrary Loan.

(click on image to enlarge)search results showing features of the database as outlined in the text

Polpular vs. Scholarly

Popular OR Peer-Reviewed?

Can you tell the difference at first glance? Click the links below to see the original copies of these two articles - compare them and the features they have and info they include...which is which? Can you tell the difference?

(click on image to enlarge - OR - use the links below to view the full articles)

image of article linked below image of article linked below

Why trade publications?

Using Trade Publications

Cover of Trade Publication: Security Management

Trade publications are the professional journals and magazines written for people who work in an industry. Nearly all fields have them!

They are a great resource to learn about current trends and research in your field, opinion on how current governmental policies impact your field, professional development and more. 

Why scholarly publications?

Using Scholarly Articles

Cover Scientific Journal: Conservation Biology

Some features of scholarly literature:
  • Reports of original research

  • Authored by credentialed experts in the scholarly field

  • In-depth analyses of topics

  • Abstract that summarizes the article. Read to determine relevance

  • Explanation of methodology and materials

  • Discussion of study and results

  • Literature Cited section

  • In-text citations or notes

  • Use technical vocabulary