Finding Journal Articles

. . . is a two-step process involving (1) searching for a relevant article in one of
     our indexes or databases and (2) locating the journal containing that article  

  

Search an Index -  

Electronic Databases  (by subject or alphabetical list)

The titles on this list are searchable databases that index articles published worldwide in thousands of journals. You can search for the articles using subject keywords, author names, and other criteria peculiar to each index. To choose an index that matches your area of interest and need, either follow the links to see the database descriptions or save yourself time and just ask a librarian to recommend one. The three examples below demonstrate how much subject coverage and scope can vary between databases:

BIOSIS (Biological Abstracts), 1989+
Indexes articles from over 7,000 research-oriented life science journals worldwide, providing the most comprehensive coverage of the life sciences journal literature. Includes links from citations to holdings in the BU Library Catalog.

General Science Full Text, 1984+
Indexes articles in 250 core and popular journals covering all the sciences. Not comprehensive for any one discipline. Includes some full text and links to holdings in the BU Library Catalog.

Web of Science, 1983+
Includes Science Citation Index which indexes articles in 5,000 of the most heavily cited journals in the sciences and engineering. Has the unique feature of tracking the citing relationships between articles by providing indexing not only for the articles themselves, but also for each article's list of references. Provides some links to full text.
 

Search Results
The result of your search is a list of records each citing a journal article. The data elements that begin each record - i.e., the author(s) and title of the article, the name of the journal and its volume number, date, and page numbers - together form what is called a citation. You need these details for the next step - locating the journal.
Journal abbreviations - If the name of the journal is abbreviated in the citation, you need to know exactly what that abbreviation stands for in order to conduct a reliable search for its location. Abbreviations are spelled out in a volume shelved at the Reference Desk. 

Locating the Journals   -  

Library Catalog  (http://library.bu.edu)
The Library Catalog includes records for all our print journals and the majority of our electronic journals. The records for electronic journals provide links to the full text. Do a TITLE search using the full name of the journal to see if BU owns the journal you need. Do a WORD search if unsure of the exact journal name.

          eJournals Locator   (http://www.bu.edu/library/ejournals/index.html)

Check this list if your catalog search is unsuccessful. Not only is this list more up-to-date, but it also includes additional titles such as those with full text embedded in an index or those for which back issues, but not the
current year, are freely available. Titles temporarily available during a trial period would also be included in these lists, but not in the Library Catalog.

 

Journals in Storage
When the Library Catalog indicates the volume you need is in storage, fill out a Storage Request Form either online or in the library at one of the service desks. A copy of the article will be ready for pickup at the Circulation Desk by 4 PM on the following weekday.
 

Journals not at BU
Submit an interlibrary loan request for articles not available on the Charles River Campus. Use our online forms (http://www.bu.edu/library/ill/index.html#ill) or fill out a paper form at the Reference Desk. The turnaround on articles varies from one day to three weeks. We choose the supplier according to the urgency of your need and the availability of the journal. There is no charge for this service.
 

Journals in Other Libraries
If time is a factor, you may opt to retrieve the article yourself from another library. Our membership in the Boston Library Consortium entitles you to in-house use of the collections at all member libraries (http://www.bu.edu/library/research/catalogs.html ).
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