Scholarly journal articles are one of the primary means of communicating research ideas. The University of Illinois Library subscribes to numerous article databases (lists of article citations and sometimes full-text) that can be used to search for journal articles on your research topic. Some databases cover many disciplines, while others are subject-specific. As a graduate student at Illinois, you need to know about the subject-specific databases in psychology.
Open access journals are scholarly journals that do not charge readers for access to articles. These journals can be accessed for free by anyone, regardless of whether you are affiliated with the University of Illinois (aka after graduation!).
If you're struggling to find relevant research for your assignments, projects, etc., feel free to email me to set up a research consultation. We can work together to find what you need, either face-to-face or virtually!