Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles are one of the best sources of information for academic assignments.
Peer-Reviewed, Academic or Scholarly Journal articles are terms used to describe articles which have been through a rigorous review by experts in the field of study. They are usually published weekly, monthly or seasonally.
Most journals are online. some journals remain in magazine/ hard copy format.
Library databases hold Journals which contain thousands of Journal Articles.
Journal articles tend to be smaller in length (1-25 pages) and more specific studies or examples than eBooks/books.
Journal title holdings can be checked in ECU library search.
You can go to a specific database and use the search capabilities it offers to refine your search.
See A-Z Databases > Subject
Find subject-specific databases and journal titles in the discipline-specific pages on the main menu.
Search tips: Use limit options in the left hand side bar to refine your search.
E.g. limit by date, format (book, journal, article), topic, etc. Alternatively, use the Advanced Search options to construct a more structured search string.
Peer reviewed: Limit by "Peer Reviewed," to refine to scholarly content.
Note: The ECU Library search is set to find only results held at ECU Library. For higher degree students, change the search to ''Libraries Worldwide" and utilise Document Delivery if there is an article you need for research.
| What is a Database? |
A Database is a collection of information, mostly academic - research or scholarly in nature. It can contain information that is specific to a discipline or multidisciplinary. The information is indexed so that you, the user, can easily find credible information to support your research or assignment.
| Getting Started Using Databases |
These Database Search Strategy Worksheets help provide structure to finding information for your Assignments. They help you break your assignment topic into parts, and consider alternative terms or key words for each part. They also provide guidance on using smart searching techniques and identifying search parameters, such as refining your search by date or information type.
use when searching for journal articles on a topic
The next tabs provide a cheatsheet of shortcuts for the three main database providers, and Google Scholar.
The main "cheats" are to use Truncation and Wildcard symbols, along with standard search techniques like Boolean AND / OR / NOT and Fields like "Subject Heading" and "Author" to search through their millions of articles.
Using truncation, wildcards and other operators in a search:
| Function | Symbol(s) | Example |
| Truncation | * auto completes all possible ends to your root word or fragment | comput* will find computer OR computing |
| Wildcard | ? replaces a single existing character |
ne?t finds neat, nest OR next EBSCOhost does not find net because the wildcard replaces a single character. |
| # use in places where an alternate spelling may contain and add an extra character |
colo#r will find color OR colour N.B. plurals and possessives of that term are not searched when using # Use Truncation from the shared root word or fragment of word |
Using truncation, wildcards and other operators in a search:
| Function | Symbol | Example |
| Truncation | * auto searches all possible completions to your root word or fragment | test* finds test, tests, tester, etc. |
| Wildcard | ? replaces a single character | a?t finds act, ant, apt, art, etc. |
| * use in places where alternate spelling may add and contain extra character(s) | colo*rful finds colourful OR colourful |
Using truncation, wildcards and other operators in a search:
| Function | Symbol | Example |
| Truncation | * auto searches all possible completions to your root word or fragment | test* finds: test, tests, tester, etc. |
| Wildcard | ? replaces a single character | wom?n finds: woman and women. Searching for: t?re will find tire, tyre, tore, etc. |
Google Scholar is a search engine that indexes the content of scholarly material published on the Internet and in electronic journals.
Make sure to add "Edith Cowan University Library" to your "Library links" under "Settings" so it will link back to our paid journal and database subscriptions via the "Find it @ ECU" links.
Also, check out the "Cited by ..." link below each search result, to view subsequent research.
For more information, see the Search Engines and Library Databases Library Guide.
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the traditional custodians of the land upon which its campuses stand and its programs
operate.
In particular ECU pays its respects to the Elders, past and present, of the Noongar
people, and embrace their culture, wisdom and knowledge.