Find, access and use information effectively: a step-by-step guide: Find Articles

Search SU libraries for Articles

Click on FIND on the top menu bar of the library homepage (http://library.sun.ac.za) and select Articles from the dropdown menu, or search the search box below. Library Search will tell you what articles we have that correspond with the search terms (keywords) you used.

Articles can be sourced from different types of publications:

• Newspapers are commercial periodicals that are issued on a regular basis featuring current events as well as opinion and advertising. Newspapers seek to inform, explain, influence and entertain readers.
• Magazines provide a broad overview of current events and popular topics. The articles are written by journalists for the general public and are usually not considered to be as reliable as academic journals since they are not required to list the sources of their information. 
• Academic Journals (also called scholarly or peer-reviewed journals) contain the latest research in a particular field of study. The articles are written by experts in that field and are usually peer-reviewed, meaning that they have been reviewed by other experts in the field before being accepted for publication.

Read more about types of periodicals.

Read more about finding full-text articles.

Alphabetical list of all the electronic journals that the SU Library Service subscribes to.

Off-campus e-access to the article databases and to electronic journals is available to currently registered students and currently employed staff of the Stellenbosch University. Use your campus username and password when asked to log in.

If a journal is not available electronically, check Library Search to see if the Library subscribes to the print version.

Library Search will provide the shelf number where you can find the journal. Journals are kept on the upper or lower level (depending on the shelf number) on shelves with brown disks on the side.

A database is an electronic index to journal or magazine articles, containing citations, abstracts and often either the full text of the articles, or links to the full text.

Article databases provide you with 24/7 access to magazine, journal and newspaper articles via the Internet. To help you identify the most appropriate database for your topic/subject:

• consult the database descriptions on the Library's Database A-Z page
• consult a Subject Guide for your specific subject to see which databases are recommended by your faculty librarian.

Use a database (see boxes below). To access the electronic databases that Stellenbosch University Library and Information Service has access to,  click on FIND on the top menu bar of the library homepage (http://library.sun.ac.za) and select E-databases from the dropdown menu. See insert from website below.