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You can still access the UC Berkeley Library’s services and resources during the closure. Here’s how.

How to find articles and databases: Finding Articles

Help finding articles

You can use Start your Search on the Library homepage to search across various book and article databases simultaneously. Many article databases, however, aren’t included in that search tool (see more about what’s included). To find the best resources for your topic, you might want to go directly to a specific database.

Find the best database(s) for your research topic:

  1. General article databases are a good place to start since they include both popular and scholarly journal titles covering numerous disciplines. Simply choose one of those databases and type in your keywords to begin to find articles.

  2. Browse for databases by subject (such as EconomicsElectrical Engineering, or Art History) if you want to dig deeper into resources covering a specific discipline. If you aren’t sure what subject to choose, look for the academic department that your class is listed under. Once you’ve chosen a subject, search for your topic in one or two of the recommended databases that are listed on the top of the subject list.

  3. Browse for databases by type if you want to find other kinds of formats, such as encyclopedias, newspapers, government information sources, statistics, maps, images and more.

If you have an article citation:

  • The Citation Linker will look across various databases to find whether or not we have access to the article online or in a journal on the library shelves. You need a journal title and publication date to use the Citation linker. If you don’t have that information try Googling the article title and author name.

Common questions

Is there one search box I can use to search all databases to find articles on my topic?
The Start your search tool on the Library homepage will search many library-licensed article databases as well as OskiCat and other important library collections. It doesn’t include everything though, and we encourage more advanced researchers to use the subject-specific databases that best represent their research topic.

Can I search for articles in OskiCat?
No. OskiCat, the UC Berkeley library catalog cannot find articles in journals. You can search for journal titles in OskiCat, and you will find whether we have access to a journal in print on the shelves or online, but OskiCat has no information regarding the articles that are published inside of those journals.

Can I search for articles in Melvyl?
Yes, you can find some articles in Melvyl, which also contains records for books and other materials in all of the UC Libraries. Unfortunately, Melvyl only contains a fraction of the article content that we license at UC Berkeley and if you rely solely on Melvyl for your research you will will miss out on a lot of important article content. Indeed, some of the most important databases for research in specific disciplines are not available via Melvyl.

Can I just Google articles or use JSTOR?
The article databases available to you in the library provide many more scholarly articles than you can find via Google. JSTOR is also limited in the number of journals it covers, and in most cases does not include recently published issues. The bottom line? Search scholarly article databases to compile an excellent bibliography.

If I can’t find the information I need, who can help me?
Our Research Help page includes a searchable FAQ and 24/7 Library Help via chat.

Research help
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