Research Basics at NCC: Find Articles

Learn how to search the NCC Library Databases for newspaper, magazine, and journal articles.

Why use articles?

Articles are a part of a larger published work. Some articles can provide general overviews or basic facts about a topic. Others can provide information about very specific aspects of a topic or present the findings of in-depth research studies about it.

Why use library databases to find them?

Many newspaper, magazine, and journal articles can be difficult to find and access with a basic internet search. They might require a paid subscription in order to read them and may not be meant to be available to the general public. The library pays for access to these articles through our databases so you can use them for your research. Library database search results are also unbiased, which is not always the case with Google. 

You may be required to log in with your Northampton single-sign-on credentials (your student id number and Workday password) in order to use our databases off-campus or from your own device.

Library databases are digital collections of information sources, including (but not limited to):

• Popular magazines -- best for current topics where you only need basic information.
• Newspapers -- best for news, current, or even historical information.
• Scholarly journals -- great for college-level research. Best when you need data, details, and original research.
• Trade journals -- a magazine with information geared towards a specific profession or industry. Best for trends, commentary, and overviews of research.

Library databases are easily searchable by keywords and results can be filtered by date, publication, date of publication, and publisher. Most provide access to full-text articles.

A keyword search in a library database will search the titles, summaries, publication information, and full-text of articles, leading to thousands of results. Because of this, focusing your search so the results are specific and relevant to your topic is crucial.

The task of selecting a database to begin your research can be done using the library's Databases A-Z List, which shows all the databases the library subscribes to, listed in alphabetical order by name. It includes descriptions of the type of information you will find in each. You can also filter the list by subject and database type.

The Databases A-Z List can be found linked on the NCC library website under the Research section. On the Research page find the Go to Databases A-Z List button. 

From there, you should arrive at the list. Here, you can filter the databases by subject or type to find ones that will work best for your topic and particular needs:

Below, you can view our video demonstrating how to use the Databases A-Z List to find one that might be a good fit for your topic and information needs:

Before searching any of the library's databases, it helps to have a search strategy which can help you focus your search or adjust if you get stuck. Here is what your NCC Librarians recommend:

1. Choose the right database for the topic you have and the type of sources or information you are looking for. 
2. Choose the right search keywords or phrases. 
3. Consider combining your keywords in different ways. Maybe use the connector words (Boolean operators) AND, OR, & NOT:
   • AND: search for information about two keywords at the same time (cat and dog). Both words will need to appear in any sources in the results. 
   • OR: search for information about one or another of multiple keywords (cat or kitten). Regardless of if a source uses the word cat, or if it uses the word kitten, it will show up in your results. 
   • NOT: search for information about one keyword but leave another out (cat NOT dog). Your results will not have any sources that contain the 'NOT' keyword. 
   • Use quotation marks to group keywords together into a phrase that is searched a single idea (such as "Global Warming). 
4. Consider applying any helpful search filters, like Full-Text or Full-Text Available Online, which will give you results that the NCC libraries have full access to and which can be read in their entirety online. Filters depend on the database you're searching, but you may also see filters for Publication Date or Peer-Reviewed sources. 

These databases are a great place to start your research and cover a wide range of subjects.

View a video tutorial showing how to perform searches in our EBSCOHost Research Databases here: EBSCOhost Basic Search - Tutorial (from EBSCO Tutorials YouTube Channel)

The following databases are great for finding information on current events, controversies, and issues facing society with varying points of view on each topic.

View a video tutorial showing how to perform a search in CQ Researcher here: CQ Researcher Tutorial Video (from Sage YouTube channel).

View a video tutorial showing how to perform a search in Issues & Controversies here: Issues & Controversies Overview Video (from the Infobase YouTube Channel).

View a video tutorial showing how to perform a search in Gale in Context - Opposing Viewpoints here: Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints - Topic Pages (from the Gale Youtube Channel).

You can also search across many library databases with the library's EBSCO Discovery Service search tool. It searches most of the library's individual databases and SpartaCat, the library catalog, at one time. 

It looks like this on the library homepage and on other research guides:

But it's also accessible from the Databases A-Z list, and may look like this:

Using this tool with the Full-Text search limiter applied searches almost 'everything' we have access to, either in our physical collections or digitally through our subscriptions, regardless of publisher or provider. 

It's also helpful to apply other available search filters once you've started a search to help you navigate to useful results more quickly. Since it searches across our databases, it's important to choose your search keywords very carefully when using it.