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Santa Clara UniversityUniversity Library

COMM 110: Quantitative Research Methods: Locate Known Articles

Research guide for students taking COMM 110

Quick Links

Locate Known Articles

How to locate known articles:

You will find most of the articles for your project by searching the library databases, but there are also other ways to identify good articles.  For example, your instructor may recommend a few good sources to help you get started; or you  may find a good article in the list of references at the end of another article or in the bibliography of a book.

If you have the citation to an article that seems promising for your project, here are the steps to locate the full-text either in print or in electronic format.

Let's say you are looking for the following article:

Chia, S. C. How Social Influence Mediates Media Effects on Adolescents' Materialism. COMMUNICATION RESEARCH, v. 37 no. 3 (June 2010) p. 400-19

1)  From  the Quick Links section in this guide, click on "Journal Finder" (you can also go to the library home page (www.scu.edu)  and click on "Journals and Magazines")

2)  Enter the title of the journal you are looking for, in this case COMMUNICATION RESEARCH. 

3)  Now you have 3 choices  

  • If the article is available in another database (e.g., Wilson OmniFile, JSTOR), click on the link and follow the citation information (e.g., volume, issue, date of publication, etc.)
  • If the library has the jounal only in print, click on the link and go to the OSCAR record to request the issue you need from the ARS.
  • If the library doesn't have access to the full-text of the article, you will be offered the option of ordering it through the interlibrary loan service (which is free)