K-12 Research Guide: Find Articles

Here are some starting points for your research. You must be in the Campus Library to access the databases below. However, your public library might offer online access to the same (or similar) databases for free!

These are the same as some of the resources you can access here at the Campus Library, but you can get online access to them from home with your public library card!

Depending on what kind of information you need, searching with either keywords or subject headings will help guide you to the most appropriate resources. 

What is a keyword?

Keywords are the search terms you will enter into databases to return the information you need. Keywords are usually one, two, or sometimes three words long and are directly related to the subject you're searching. It is helpful to think about synonyms for your keywords (related words that mean the same or nearly the same thing) as well as broader or narrower terms.

What is a subject heading?

A subject heading is a word or phrase chosen by the database creators that is used to describe the articles it contains. For example, all articles about the UW Bothell may have the subject heading "universities" attached to them. Using subject headings can help you find articles because you are speaking the database's language! Most databases provide a list of all the subject headings they contain, or you can see subject headings associated with a particular article that you find. 

Still have questions? See the Campus Library tutorials on starting research.