This guide is your introduction to the resources at Auraria Library. It points to the best tools to find books and journal articles on your topic. Keep in mind that the reference librarians are here to help. If you can't find what you need, just ask for help!

A good way to brush up on your research skills would be using the Auraria Library tutorial for honing research skills. LEAP {"Learn, Enjoy, and Play"}is a highly interactive tutorial to help develop and practice information literacy.

Getting started and the research process:
The starting place for your library search is with the research question. A well articulated, focused question is essential for an effective search of article databases and library catalogs. Both ERIC and PsycInfo have an accompanying Thesaurus (a book copy, as well as an online version). Using the correct terms in a database can save a great deal of time.

Reference books such as specialized encyclopedias and dictionaries are great for finding out just what you need to support your thesis or collect background material for your research. You can search Skyline using your term and combine it with terms like encyclopedias or handbooks to pull up specialized encyclopedias (example: education and encyclopedias ). This also applies to "dictionaries" and "videorecordings".

Article Databases:
Most of our databases can be accessed 24/7. Make sure you are in the Auraria Library database before you try to access them from off-campus.

Many databases provide online full text of the article, some databases display a link to library holdings, and some just a citation. The links below will list relevant resources for your class assignments. See also article databases and indexes for access to other 200+ databases.

• Psychology databases . PsycInfo and PsycARTICLES are the primary research tools for psychology. ScienceDirect is also excellent, and provides much full text.
• Education databases. ERIC and Education Full Text for issues relating to child development, learning, home schooling, bullying, etc.
• Medical and Health databases . Look for PubMed , MedlinePlus and other databases under this heading for journal articles and health/medical information.
• Multidisciplinary databases: Academic Search Premier and Expanded Academic Index ASAP are general databases that provide coverage of psychology and education journals. Many articles are full text. You may need to limit to "peer reviewed" or "refereed publications" when searching for research articles.
• CQ Researcher An excellent database which provides background on current topics and the pros/cons of those topics.

Most databases are not 100% full text however, so there are two or three steps to get any article.

1. Identify the title of the journal. Be sure not to confuse this with the title of the article.
2. Search Skyline by Periodical Title, typing in the name of the journal title. If Auraria Library has the journal, a record will appear that shows complete information (status, location, call number, format). If we don't have it, go to the next step.
3. Search Gold Rush by Periodical Title. If Auraria Library owns a database that has full text from the journal, a record will appear that shows complete information (database name and a link to the database). If we don't have it, go to the next step.
4. ILL (Interlibrary Loan)- getting copies of journal articles that are not full text online. Some of the databases listed above contain full text articles online. Request the article through Interlibrary Loan/Document Delivery (ILL) via ILLIAD. Students and faculty log into their ILLiad accounts to get articles within 2-4 days. So, give yourself time. If you don't have the time, go to Prospector and determine which library, if any, owns the journal locally. You can go to that library and make a copy of that article.