Transcript
So your professor asked you to find recently published, peer-reviewed journal articles for an assignment.
The UNLV Libraries' website is a fast and reliable way to find articles of all kinds: scholarly, popular, and even trade publications, depending on what you need for your project.
A great place to start is Quick Search. It's right here on the library's homepage and it searches hundreds of UNLV's databases at once.
Let's say you're researching how artificial intelligence is shaping health care.
You might start with keywords like "artificial intelligence" and "health care".
Quick Search is keyword-based, which means it matches exact words you type into the search box.
It doesn't interpret your question the way Google does, so you'll want to experiment with different keywords and combinations.
For example, you could also try AI and medicine, or "machine learning" and diagnosis.
Quick Search scours hundreds of databases paid for by the libraries, so you'll get a lot of results, including scholarly journals, magazines and newspapers that normally sit behind paywalls but are made available through the library's subscriptions.
This paid access is a privilege that ensures you can use high-quality sources not freely available on the web.
Unlike Google, Quick Search doesn't use your personal data to customize results.
Everyone sees the same core set. You can, however, use the Personalize option to rank results by discipline or by the recency of the material.
Since so many kinds of sources appear in your research, it helps to know what each type is best for.
Scholarly, peer-reviewed journal articles give you original research and in-depth analysis.
They're great for finding evidence to support your arguments.
Magazines or news articles help you understand how an issue is being discussed by the public or in current events.
Trade publications can show you how professionals in a field are thinking about real world challenges and practices.
You can use filters in Quick Search to narrow your results.
For example, if your assignment requires peer-reviewed sources, you can check the Peer-reviewed Journals filter.
You can also filter to only show articles or limit by publication date— say to the last five years if your professor wants recent research.
Once you've set the filters that work best, you can hover over and lock "Remember all filters" to keep them in place while you try out new keywords.
That way you won't need to reapply them each time.
As you scan your results, pay attention to the titles to see what might be relevant.
Reading the description can help you see what the source contributes.
For example, whether it provides background, explains a key concept, or offers evidence you might use in your analysis.
If it looks useful, just click the "Full text available" link to access the source.
And remember, if you have any questions, click the Ask Us button on your screen's bottom-right corner.
If you're on campus, drop-in help is available on the first floor of Lied Library.
Research takes practice, so don't worry if it feels challenging at first.
Every search is a step toward building your skills, and we're here to support you along the way.
