CSUSM Library Guides: WGSS 301: Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality in Contemporary Societies: Scholarly Journal Articles

Scholarly Journal Articles

Tutorial
This 6-minute tutorial will cover how to identify whether an article is "scholarly" and how to search for these types of articles.

written by scholars (with affiliations to universities or research institutions)
written for other scholars and students (and therefore difficult to read)
published in an academic journal with a peer-review process
- Here are some examples:
  - Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society
  - Transgender
  - Journal of Women, Politics, and Policy
structured format (abstract, introduction, etc...)
extensive references at the end

Academic Search Premier
This scholarly collection offers information in nearly every area of academic study including: computer sciences, engineering, physics, chemistry, language and linguistics, arts & literature, medical sciences, ethnic studies, and many more.
GenderWatch
GenderWatch contains publications which focus on how gender impacts a broad spectrum of subject areas. GenderWatch is a repository of an important historical perspective on the evolution of the womens movement and the changes in gender roles.
LGBT Life w/Full Text
This database provides full-text coverage for the most important literature regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues. Offering a variety of scholarly, popular and regional resources, it includes journals, books, magazines and more
PAIS
An important index to political, economic, and social issues in current debate.
Sociological Abstracts
Provides access to the latest international findings in theoretical and applied sociology, social science, and political science.
Women's Studies International
Includes over 204,000 records drawn from a variety of essential women's studies databases.

Tips	Examples
Use keywords, not long search phrases	Instead of searching for "How are cities and states engaged in immigration reform?" search for cities, states, immigration reform
To get more focused results: Use quotation marks (" ") to keep phrases together Use AND to combine different keywords	"immigration reform" AND San Diego
To get broader results: Use OR to combine similar/associated keywords Truncate words that have a variety of endings with a *	"immigration reform" AND (California or San Diego) *immigra = immigrant, immigrate, immigration**
Look for ways to limit your search in the database using the Advanced Search mode	You can often limit by type of article (editorial, front page) & year of publication