Illinois students have access to thousands of journals and articles through the Library. Many of the articles you will use in your research are available online through article databases. Databases gather those electronic journals together, usually by subject, and allow you to search many journals for articles on specific topics or by particular authors. Need help finding or selecting a database for your research?

Most of our databases include full text access to articles, but some of them contain only citations and abstracts. If a database doesn't provide the full text of the article you need, try one of the strategies below in "Searching for a Known Article" to locate the full text through other Library resources. 

Searching in a database works differently than an open web search. If you would like to improve your search skills, check out our guide on Advanced Search Strategies.

If you need to access the full text of a specific article, first determine whether the article is available electronically through the University of Illinois or on the open web. How to Find Articles has detailed instructions for using the Easy Search feature on the Library homepage or the Journal and Article Locator to find a known article. 

If you determine that the Library only holds the article in print format, you can request a photocopy of the article via Document Delivery. Interlibrary Loan is available for articles not held in our collections.