Find, Borrow, Request

Some articles are open-access, which means that they are available to everyone for free online.

Other articles are available only to paid subscribers. DI students, faculty and staff have access to databases that contain full-text articles, as well as citations and abstracts that can refer them to additional sources. In order to access these articles, you will be asked to sign in using the DI Library credentials.

Type of Publication

Many types of publications may provide information about your topic.

• Scholarly/Academic Journals publish in-depth, original research findings, and peer-reviewed research articles. These journals are written by and for academic experts in the field.
• Trade/Professional Journals publish specialized industry or professional articles that tend to be more practical and applied in nature. These journals are written by and for professionals practicing in the field.
• Popular/Shelter Magazines publish articles intended to inform and entertain general readers.
• Newspapers publish articles that report on current events and also editorials and opinions about current events.
• Reference works include encyclopedias, dictionaries, and companions. Reference works have entries that may be as short as a standard dictionary definition or may be as long as a journal article. Longer entries often include the author and a bibliography. Entries from reference works are typically considered "reference" sources rather than articles.

Type of Article

Each type of publication may include several different types of article. Here are some common types of articles:

• Articles/Features are the in-depth articles published by any type of publication. Publishing this type of article is the main purpose of most publications; that's why we just call them "articles." When you're researching, you usually want to focus on these.
  • Articles published in peer-reviewed academic/scholarly journals are peer-reviewed articles.
• Reviews are reviews of books, films, or exhibitions. When you're researching, these reviews can help you identify books and films relevant to your topic, and exhibition reviews can help you understand how an artist's work was received by critics at the time. Reviews are usually much shorter than feature articles.
  • Even if published in peer-reviewed academic/scholarly journals, reviews are not peer-reviewed articles.
• Editorials, Opinions, Commentaries, and Letters are all types of opinion pieces. When you're researching, these can help you understand the scholarly conversation about your topic - what experts agree on, where they disagree, what questions remain unanswered, and more. It's important to keep in mind that these pieces have not been peer-reviewed, even if they are published in a peer-reviewed journal.
  • Even if published in peer-reviewed academic/scholarly journals, editorials and other opinion pieces are not peer-reviewed articles.

Where to Find Articles

If you are just beginning your article research and are unsure of where to start, try searching a general or multi-disciplinary database.