Project Dragonfly: Researching

Looking for Articles

Miami's web library provides countless options from which to choose. One of our favorite literature databases for locating science articles in Miami's library is Web of Science (aka Science Citation Index Expanded). Here's how to get there:

1. Access the MU Libraries' website at http://www.lib.miamioh.edu.
2. Under the Research menu at the top of the page or below the search form in the middle of the page, click on Databases A-Z, then under Databases: All click on the letter W. Scroll down and click the Connect to Web of Science link. At this point you will likely be prompted to log in to access the database. Use your MU ID and password, just as for accessing MyMiami and email.
3. In the database, you can enter search words that relate to your research question. In addition to searching by topic or title, you can also refine your results through searching by years of publication, author names, journal titles, and languages.
4. You can find other useful databases in the A-Z list, or in the Subject Guides for Biology, Environmental Science, or Education. Other useful databases include Environment Complete, Academic Search Complete, and BIOSIS Previews. (Academic Search Complete and Environment Complete will also provide academic citations in a variety of styles, including APA. Once you have selected an article, click on Cite on the tools sidebar to the right.)
5. In most cases, you will be able to access the entire texts of the articles you need by utilizing the Find It! button. To get to articles, you may again be prompted to log in.

Please note that to use online library subscription resources like databases and journals, you will be prompted to log in at the point you click into the resource. There is not a global login to all library resources. The My Account function on the library site does not log you in to library resources (it is just a link to print library books you have checked out).

The library offers live, real-time assistance from a Help Desk staff member. To access it, find the Ask Us! prompt in the upper right corner of the University Libraries web site and click on Chat. The service is available when the Help Desk is staffed, which on most days is until 9pm EST; check the library web site for hours. General questions may also be sent to the library via text to 513-729-9777.

Should the library schedule outages or experience technical problems, this information is communicated with the university community via several outlets:

You may also communicate problems you encounter directly to library personnel via live online chat: http://www.lib.miamioh.edu/askus

Most of you are going to be accessing the Libraries' resources from off-campus, which can present some problems when trying to use Google Scholar. The video below will show you how to add a link to our online resources in Google Scholar, which will allow you to search without encountering quite as many paywalls.