LibGuides: Public Health: Articles (Scholarly & Non-Scholarly)

Articles (Scholarly & Non-Scholarly)

Why use scholarly articles?

Timeliness. In most areas of political science, scholars regularly publish articles in scholarly journals; some of these ideas may be later expanded or combined into books, but articles are often the first format in which new scholarship in political science is shared.
Variety. Databases will allow you to find multiple perspectives/publications/authors in one place.
References/footnotes/bibliographies. If you find an article that's particularly applicable to your research, be sure to explore the sources cited by the author(s); this can be an efficient and effective means to find other related material for your own research.

A Few Databases to Try

CINAHL with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Though primarily a nursing database, CINAHL is an excellent place to start in Public Health research. Use CINAHL to find articles about diseases, health conditions, public health campaigns, and more.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
- go immediately to the Advanced Search screen
- below the search area, check the box by "Article" and limit discipline to "Public Health"
Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Research about health disparities and the social determinants of health overlaps greatly with the field of sociology, which studies groups of people and their associated behaviors and related concerns.

Most of the results you will find in this database will not include a link to the full text; please refer to the tab to the left, "Need the full text of an article?" to see whether you can access the full text through Tredway right away.
Web of Science This link opens in a new window
- After you type in your keywords and run your first search, look at the toolbar on the left side of the page and scroll down to "Web of Science Categories." Click "see all" and select "Public Environmental Occupational Health," as well as any others that best pertain to your specific topic
Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
- start with a broad search, e.g., "novel coronavirus," "maternal mortality," etc.
- when you get your results, use the links on the left under "Subject" or "Subject: Thesaurus Term" on the left side to narrow your search even more; clicking "show more" will take you to a screen where you can select subjects and combine them in a new, more refined search

Other Information

Depending on your topic, you may find it helpful to consult sources outside the field of public health. Possibilities might include sociology; women's, gender, and sexuality studies; medicine; etc. You can find additional databases in these areas by consulting the Research Guides for those areas.

Here are some specific database suggestions; to find these, go to the appropriate letter in our A-Z Resources list.

For issues of special concern to women and/or families: Gender Studies Database, Family & Society Studies Worldwide
For topics related to medicine: CINAHL (a nursing database), ScienceDirect
For topics related to politics or public policy: Political Science Complete