Skip to Main Content

Database Tutorials

This LibGuide contains step by step instructions for majority of research databases available in the Wolfgram collection.

JSTOR

About this Database

  • JSTOR provides access to more than 12 million academic journal articles, books, and primary sources in 75 disciplines.
  • JSTOR includes scholarship published in more than 2,800 of the highest-quality academic journals across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences.
  • Known as an archival database, it provides users with Full Text coverage of articles published prior to 2008 (although coverage varies for each journal).
  • The entire back runs of journals (from Volume 1, Issue 1) are always included!

Platform Features

  • Try the new Text Analyzer – upload your own text to search for related content.
  • Personalization and organization: A growing set of personalization features enable students and researchers to customize their experiences and save their work from session to session.
  • Building research skills: The new, onsite JSTOR outline builder supports information literacy skills by providing students with an easy way to begin a paper or project and link formatted, authoritative sources directly to their writing.
  • Text mining support: JSTOR supports text analysis and digital humanities research by providing full-text datasets for the journals and primary sources in the digital library.

For additional help, browse through JSTOR's "How to Use JSTOR" guide. Also, check out there other subject-specific guides for more research help. 

Navigate to the JSTOR Database

Library Home Page A to Z Database ListJSTOR

Searching

Basic Search Option

Be sure to access JSTOR through the Wolfgram A-Z Database, the ensures you have access the Full Text materials that we subscribe to.

  1. Enter your Search Terms / Keyword(s) into the search box located on the JSTOR home page.

You can put in phrases, keywords, authors or titles without any special formatting. This will give you a broader list of results that will, at least, allow you to peruse some options. If you're a more advanced searcher, you can put Boolean commands directly into the search bar or use the Advanced Search option. For additional help, check out JSTOR's "How to Search JSTOR" guide.

JSTOR search screen with callouts for Access Provided By note and search box

Advanced Search

Advanced Search

  1. From the JSTOR home page search box, click Advanced Search
  2. Enter your Search Terms / Keyword(s). NOTE: The default is to AND words together. To search for a phrase, put the words inside quotation marks.
  3. You can use limiters like Item Type, Date Range, Language and/or Journal or Book Title, to refine your search results.
  4. Conduct your Search.
For the example below we used the keywords “social welfare” and poverty, additionally we limited the results to only show scholarly journal articles.

Advanced Search screenshot with callouts for search box, filters for item type, date range, and discipline

The Results List

  1. The search for scholarly articles conducted using the keywords “social welfare” and poverty, produced over 47,000 results.
  2. From the results page, you have the option to further refine your search by using the Refine Results block of the results list.
  3. Download article PDFs directly from your results list, by clicking the red Download button.
  4. Clicking the Article's Title brings you to the detail page for that item.
  5. Click on the Authors name to view other articles written by that author.

Screen shot of search results with callouts for limiters, downloads, links to detailed article and author records

Article Details

Clicking on the title for the second item listed, "Social Welfare, Inequality, and poverty when needs differ" brings you into the article detail page (see example below).
 
From the articles detail page:
A. Use the Stable URL in the reference list for your paper, in an email to other students in your group, knowing it will work later.
B. Complete citation information can be accessed directly from the detailed record, by clicking Cite This Item.
C. The articles abstract, a summary of the entire article, is often printed before the main body text.
D. Use the arrows in the article frame to move to the next page.
Detailed article record screenshot with callouts for citation tool, stable URL, abstract, and navigation tools