Where to Search
Use Research Databases to find articles on your topic.
Political Science databases are a great place to start your research, but other subjects may also be helpful, especially the Law & Government Databases.
Many of the articles contain full-text, meaning that the actual article is available in the database.
Databases contain content from a variety of scholarly journals, government documents, conference proceedings, books, dissertations, and more.
Suggested Databases
- Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
Large full-text multidisciplinary collection of scholarly journals, trade/professional publications, and newspapers. 1887-present.
- NewsBank - America's and World News This link opens in a new windowThousands of U.S. and international news sources from around the world. It features most major U.S. news sources, including Texas newspapers, and many local and regional titles. Dates vary by title.
How to Search
Search by keywords and small phrases.
Maximize your keyword searches with Boolean searching:
AND
|
aquifer AND drought | all words must appear in the result list |
OR
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streamflow OR stream measurement
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either word may appear in the results.
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NOT
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San Marcos NOT California
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must have San Marcos, but excludes items with California
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Use "quotation marks" to search for phrases.
Use the database’s "help" feature to find the syntax for advanced searches. This varies by database
Consider truncation. The asterisk (*) symbol is used most often.
Typing in stand* will give results containing: stands, standing, standards, standardize, and etc.
Try using the database’s subject or descriptor terms. Those are listed in the database’s thesaurus, or they may be listed near the article abstract. These can be useful for learning the preferred vocabulary of a discipline.