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*GERO 4110/7110 Aging Policy & Services - BALL: Finding
Articles

Finding Articles

We have many more databases than these! To find others, check out our A-Z list, other research guides, or consult with me about what might be best to search for your topic.

** The following EBSCOhost databases can be searched simultaneously - Click on Ageline, then, before doing your search, click the Choose Databases >> link, select the relevant databases for your research topic, and click OK. **

  • Ageline  Produced by AARP, focuses exclusively on the population aged 50+ and issues of aging - premier source for the literature of social gerontology and includes aging-related content from the health sciences, psychology, sociology, social work, economics, and public policy.
  • PsycINFO - good for psychological-services for aged.

*To limit to scholarly articles, use an Advanced Search, then check the Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals box.

** The following ProQuest databases can be searched simultaneously - Click on one, then, before doing your search, click the Change >> link in at top left, select the relevant databases for your research topic, and click Use Selected Databases button. **

*To limit to scholarly articles, check the Peer reviewed box.

Some additional databases that might be useful - must search separately.

  • Google Scholar - all topics. To see the fulltext links for GSU: On Google Scholar main page, click Settings in top right corner of screen, then at next screen click Library Links at left, search for Georgia State University, checkbox Georgia State University - FullText @ GSU.
  • LexisNexis Academic - good for policy-related topics.  Click US Legal link at left of screen - there you can search for law reviews (discussions and analyses of policies), specific court cases, and state or federal statutes/codes/regulations (i.e., legal policies).

    Annual Reviews

    Annual Reviews are comprehensive literature reviews on topics - a great way to familiarize yourself with the research in an area and to mine the references for original research studies.  You can browse them or use the Advanced Search to search within specific ones.

    Getting to Articles from Databases

    1: Look for a "Full-Text" or "PDF" link that will take you directly to the article. If yes, great.  If not, go to #2.

    2: Look for the button.  Click on it.  Look for the "Full text online" link at the top.  If yes, great. If not, you will see "Sorry, no electronic full text is available."  Go to #3.

    3: If you see the "Sorry, no electronic full text is available" message, click the link below it that says "We may have a copy in print."  If yes, go to the library to copy the article.  If we do not have it in print, go to #4.

    4: Request the article you need through interlibrary loan - typically arrive within 1 day, so definitely worth trying!

    Cited Reference Searching

    Found an incredibly relevant source for your topic?  Do cited reference searches to find researchers who are citing that relevant source - their research might be relevant to you as well, and even more current.

    Mining References

    Found an incredibly relevant source for your topic?  Mine its references for previously-published sources the authors are citing that might also be relevant to your research.

    Scholarly vs. Popular Periodicals Tutorial

    Great tutorial on strategies for discerning whether a periodical (aka journal, magazine, newspaper) is SCHOLARLY or POPULAR:

    http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/peabody/tutorials/scholarlyfree/