Welcome to the University of Alabama Libraries Online

This page is designed to support the teaching of Nursing 501.
We are here to help you with learning and research.

Accessing the University Libraries home page

You will be asked to enter your student number then your last name to get into any database other than the Libraries Catalog. If you have trouble accessing the home page or any databases from it, please let us know.

What is a scholarly article?
Your professor wants you to find scholarly articles to use in your paper. A scholarly or peer reviewed article is one that is written by an expert for scholars or students. This type of article is reviewed by the author's colleagues who are in the same field of study. These scholarly articles are found in journals published by a university or an association. Such an article often has many references as well as graphs, charts, and statistics.

The University Libraries offers access to thousands of scholarly journals to support research. Many of the articles are available online in databases or electronic journals.

Databases
Databases are collections of electronic articles from various journals. Some databases are general while others focus on a specific subject. These databases can be searched by keyword, author, or title. Your search may be limited to full text and peer review or to a specific journal.

E-Journals
Many journals now have electronic as well as print versions. E-journals allow you to browse issues on line. You can look at the table of contents to find articles on your subject.

Print journals
Some articles are not available either full text online in databases or in an e-journal. These articles can often be found in paper by searching in the Libraries Catalog. Look under journal title to see if University Libraries owns the journal and issue that you want. These articles may then be ordered by using the Interlibrary Loan form on the Libraries home page. These articles can be faxed or mailed to you. Journal articles not available electronically may also sometimes be found at a library near you.

Step by Step Guide to Searching for Scholarly Journal Articles
In order to search databases for articles:

Go to Libraries home page

Choose "Databases" from the search menu

Select your subject area from the drop-down menu under "Select a Subject Listing". The subject listing in your field of study can be very helpful in determining relevant databases. Or, Ask-A-Librarian via e-mail or chat!

Click on the title of the database that you wish to search. (Please note that a few science and business databases are only available for use in the Science and Business Libraries).

Type in your Student ID number and name.

Search the database by connecting keywords with AND, OR, NOT. (Hint: you will want to look for limiters that focus your search on scholarly or peer-reviewed articles).

If the articles you find are full text, you can usually print, download, or email from your own computer.

If the articles are not full text, you should search for a print copy of the article using the Libraries Catalog:

Go to the Libraries Catalog.

Select "Basic Search".

Type in the title of the journal containing the article and highlight "Journal Title".

Click "Search"

Click on each heading for the journal title and determine if the Libraries hold the appropriate issues.

Fill out the Interlibrary loan request form from the link at the bottom of the first screen of the homepage.

Electronic Journals
To start using e-journals, you may wish to identify leading journals in your discipline with the help of your teacher or email or chat with a librarian. Then search the Libraries e-journal page to determine if those journals offer an electronic version.

Go to Libraries home page. Select "Electronic Journals from the search menu.

Click on the appropriate letter of the alphabet to look for the e-journal you wish to access.

Scroll to locate the title of the e-journal that you need, then click on the name of the database that contains it.

Individual e-journals can be searched or browsed by issue.

Most articles can be printed out. Email or download features may not be available for all e-journal articles.

Specific Databases

Academic Search Elite: This excellent general academic database has articles on many subjects. Boxes are available in this database that limit the search to full text or peer review. Full text articles that you find can be printed out, emailed to yourself, or downloaded to a disk.

For helpful hints on how to use PubMed database, please check this PDF document. To view this document you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you don't already have Acrobat Reader on your computer, go to the Adobe website and follow the instructions for downloading. There is no charge for Acrobat Reader.

Some Other Full Text Databases With Articles on Nursing
CINAHL
Health Source:Nursing/Academic
Proquest Nursing Journals

Electronic Reserves
Your professor may have put electronic reserves on the Libraries web site for you. To access these reserves, go to to the Libraries home page at http://www.lib.ua.edu/.

Go to the Libraries Catalog.

Choose Course Reserve.

Scroll through the list of instructors until you find you instructor's name. All items will be listed alphabetically by the title.

Choose the appropriate title by clicking on it.

Choose "Click here for online article."

The article should appear and be ready to print.

To Ask for Assistance
Please let us know if you have any problems or questions. Email , Distance Education Librarian or , Nursing Liaison/Reference Librarian, or call toll free 1-877-479-2121 to ask for additional assistance.

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