Using Academic Search Complete Effectively
- Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new windowFull-text access to articles out of academic journals as well as general interest magazines with excellent coverage in a wide variety of disciplines. Watch the How To Use Academic Search Complete video.
1. Type in search term(s) in box(es) near top of search page.
2.Specifically need an academic journal article? Look underneath the search boxes under the Limit Your Results section and check the box for "Peer Reviewed".
3. If the results set for your search is large, there are additional options for refining your search at the top of the results page, such as by publication date, which is contained in the All Time drop down menu.
4. Another area of the results page that can be very useful is the All Filters box in the upper left of the page. After clicking on the All Filters box, a panel will open on the right side of the page showing different filters you can use to get rid of articles you don't want. For instance, the Subject or Subject: Thesaurus Term areas may list other terms related to your topic that may provide more relevant results when searched. Check box(es) next to terms you want, then click the Apply button at the bottom of the panel to narrow your current results set.
5. One useful way to scan the results for articles more likely to be relevant for your research needs is that if you find a title of an article that sounds promising, click on the Show more link that is in the article's record. Text will appear with more information about the article including an abstract, a short summary paragraph of what is covered in the article.
6. Links for downloading or sharing the full-text of an article as well as a citation tool are located to the right of the article's title.
