will lead you to the full-text of articles.
Integrated into many databases, Find@BU will help you get the article in one of three ways:
- If BU has online access, provider links appear in the Find Online section of a BU Libraries Search record.
- If BU has the print journal, the library and the call number appear in the record. Go to the library and scan the article for free, using our easy self-service scanners.
- If the record indicates we do not have it, sign-in to BU Libraries Search, and a link will lead to our interlibrary loan request form.
BU Libraries Search provides a single place to search for a wide variety of research material provided by the library. Resources covered by the search includes books and eBooks, journals, scores and sheet music, video and audio recordings, and other physical and electronic items held by the library. Coverage encompasses materials relating to the prehistoric and antique world through to the present.
Consider what database to use! There is no single most important database - not even Google. Be aware of differences such as the size of the database and if it uses a "controlled vocabulary".
- BU Libraries Search and Google Scholar - advanced algorithms with advantages/disadvantages
- other smaller databases available through BU / PsycINFO (curation), Education Full Text
Search Tips
- How to select effective search terms: see the Living Language Guide
a. common search tips (truncate with *, use "" for phrase search, {grouping with synonyms})
b. effective terms (methodology vs "study", "participants", author/experts, etc.)
Have you found a great article and want to see more like it?
Try forward searching - also known as "cited reference searching". This allows you to see if a particular article has been cited in more recent research. This is an excellent way to:
These are two tools for forward searching:
Social Sciences Citation Index, accessed via Web of Science, provides comprehensive data on bibliographic and citation information. This database allows a researcher to identify which later articles have cited any particular earlier article, or have cited the articles of any particular author, or have been cited most frequently. Searches notable and significant journals across more than 50 disciplines.
Our interlibrary loan service allows current BU faculty, staff, and students to request materials we don't have. Books generally take 1-3 weeks to arrive; articles are generally delivered electronically within 1-2 days.