NOTE: When you go to the CU Library main page, you’ll see a search window you can use to search Chinook, which is the library’s online catalog of books and other hard copy materials. Use the Chinook search window ONLY if you’re looking for books or other materials you plan to go to the library in person to check out and carry away. This search window will not give you access to digital articles and other materials you can download onto your computer.
To access digital materials, you will need to use the library’s articles databases, which is the subject of this Help File.
Like any university library, CU’s library subscribes to a number of databases that contain abstracts and full text articles from a variety of publications, including a wide range of scholarly journals. These materials are not free to the public and therefore can’t be found using Google. The library pays a hefty fee to subscribe to these databases, but you may use them for free as long as you’re enrolled as a student.
Because the database materials are limited to CU students and faculty members, you must be connected to the university’s network in order to access the materials. You can connect one of two ways: through a direct connection (in university housing, in a campus computer lab, or via a wireless connection on your laptop) or through a “virtual private network” (or VPN) connection. If you want to do research while you’re away from campus, you’ll need to establish a VPN connection following the instructions at the bottom of this page.
Search the Databases
(1) On the library page, click on the Find Articles and More link to access a directory of subscription databases. Do NOT put your search terms in the search box on this page as that’s the search box for Chinook, the library’s catalog of books and other hard copy materials.
(2) Click on the link to General and Interdisciplinary.
(3) From the list of general and interdisciplinary databases, I recommend that you start with some of the most popular, such as Academic Search Premier, JSTOR, and Google Scholar.
Each database works on slightly different search principles, and none of them work like Google, so take some time to acquaint yourself with each new database you encounter. Look for help links or advanced search tips to learn strategies that will make your searching more productive.
When searching Academic Search Premier, for example, I recommend that you enter your search terms and then limit the search field to AB (Abstract), as shown below. The database will then give you a list of articles that have your search terms in their abstracts. If the search terms are in the abstracts, then there’s a good chance that the whole article relates to the search terms. If you search by full text, by contrast, you might get some articles that have your search term in them only once and in a way that isn’t relevant to your topic. Even if you limit your search terms to abstracts, the database will still give you access to the full text of articles when available.
More details on searching the databases coming soon. The resources below might also be of use.
Resources on the CU library’s web site
- Research and Subject Guides
- College Writing and Research Guide
- How do I…? (answers to frequently asked questions)
- How do I determine if a source is scholarly vs. popular?
- How do I evaluate sources?
- How do I cite sources?
- Video Tutorial on Using Web of Science Databases
- Video Tutorial on Using the “Find it at CU” Feature
Video Tutorials on YouTube
I found these with a few quick searches. You can also find a variety of related videos by doing your own searching on YouTube or other video sites.
- Using Academic Search Premier
- Google & Wikipedia vs. ProQuest Research Tools
- Searching JSTOR
- Stop! Thief! Avoiding Plagiarism by Paraphrasing
- Cite a Source: How and Why You Should Do It
Establish a VPN Connection
(1) If you’re off campus but have an internet connection, launch your web browser and go to the the CU VPN web site. The page that loads will look like this:
(2) Enter your CU IdentiKey information and click the Sign In button. The VPN welcome screen will look like this:
(3) Click on the link within the VPN screen to the university library, as shown above. You’ll be taken to the library’s main page, and then you can follow the steps below to access the databases.
NOTE: The VPN connection applies ONLY to this web browser window. If you navigate to the library databases in a new tab or window, you will not be able to access them. Only the window that contains the VPN toolbar, shown below, has an active VPN connection.
(4) When you’re finished searching the databases, be sure to click the Sign Out button to end your secure session.
