Journal articles that analyze historical topics are secondary sources. Use a periodical index (also called a research database) to identify useful articles. At Ohio State, see:
In many databases, you can select where your search terms should be found, as the illustration below indicates. Focusing your search on a particular field in the database record produces better search results.
4B: Locating Journals in the Library
Some databases have information about where the journal containing the article is located. For many Ohio State University research databases, there is a "Find It" button that provides this information.
The new OLinks window that opens when you click on "Find It" provides links to full text of the article, if available, as well as library location information for the printed copy, as shown in the illustration.
If the research database does not include the library location for a journal, use the library catalog to find this information. At Ohio State,
Select JOURNALS from the catalog menu.
Search for the TITLE of the journal (not the article title).
Once you have found the right journal title, look for the particular VOLUME you need.
If a journal is available online, a link will be provided from the catalog record to connect to the journal.
