Why Articles?
The articles found in many scholarly journals go through a "peer-review" process. In other words, the articles are checked by academics and other experts. The information is therefore reliable. As well as containing scholarly information, journal articles can include reports and/or reviews of current research and topic-specific information.
Use scholarly journals when you need original research on a topic; articles and essays written by scholars or subject experts; factual documented information to reinforce a position; or references lists that point you to other relevant research. Scholarly journals take less time to publish than books, but the peer-review process can be lengthy.
Popular articles found in magazines are often written by journalist or professional writers for a general audience. They tend to be shorter than scholarly journal articles and rarely give full citations for sources. Popular articles from magazines are helpful if you want background on a topic that is new to you or very current information
Core Electronic Resources
- Library Catalog - Colorado School of Mines This link opens in a new window
Search the library's catalog for physical and electronic resources to find books, articles, maps, videos, and more. - GreenFILE (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
GreenFILE offers well-researched information covering all aspects of human impact on the environment. Its collection of scholarly, government and general-interest titles includes content on global warming, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more. - SciTech Premium Collection (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
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The SciTech Premium Collection provides full-text coverage for all the sciences, engineering, forestry, geography, homeland security and terrorism, International relations, mathematics, military and defense, public health and safety, and sustainability. - ASCE Civil Engineering Database This link opens in a new window
This database provides a simple search interface for all ASCE publications. It provides bibliographic access to all of the ASCE journals, conference proceedings, books, standards, manuals, magazines, and newsletters. - ScienceDirect This link opens in a new window
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From foundational science to new and novel research, discover our large collection of Physical Sciences and Engineering publications, covering a range of disciplines, from the theoretical to the applied.
Related & Multidisciplinary Resources
- Academic Search Premier (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
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Academic Search Premier is a multi-disciplinary database offering information in nearly every area of academic study, including arts, biology, chemistry, computer sciences, ethnic studies, engineering, language and linguistics, literature, medical sciences, philosophy, physics, psychology, religion, social sciences, and more. - PubMed This link opens in a new window
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PubMed is a free resource supporting the search and retrieval of biomedical and life sciences literature with the aim of improving health–both globally and personally. It comprises more than 35 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. - IEEE Xplore This link opens in a new window
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The IEEE Xplore digital library features content from IEEE as well as the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), containing current literature in electrical engineering, communications, and computer science with select content back to 1872. Select access to standards. - Materials Science & Engineering Collection (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
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The Materials Science & Engineering Database includes the renowned METADEX, Copper and Polymer Library databases and provides full-text titles from around the world, including scholarly journals, trade and industry journals, magazines, technical reports, conference proceedings, and government publications. - Engineering Village This link opens in a new window
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Engineering Village is the information discovery platform to search across both Compendex and INSPEC databases. The thesauri on Engineering Village comprise the controlled vocabulary used to index articles in the Compendex, Inspec, GeoRef, GEOBASE and EnCompass databases. - AccessEngineering This link opens in a new window
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Includes engineering reference sources, with the latest editions of Marks Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers, Perry's Chemical Engineers Handbook, Standard Handbook for Electrical Engineers, Roark's Formulas for Stress and Strain, and many more ebooks. - SpringerMaterials This link opens in a new window
SpringerMaterials provides curated data and advanced functionalities to support research in materials science, physics, chemistry, engineering, and other related fields.
Scholarly, Professional, Popular?
Evaluating Sources
What kind of information do you need? If you are writing for a class assignment, you may be required to use peer-reviewed ("refereed") or scholarly sources. In any case, you should always look for sources that are authoritative. For more detailed help with evaluating your sources, see our Evaluating Information Guide.
Scholarly Checklist--Look for:
- Authors listed, with credentials
- Cited references and data, observations, or statistics to support conclusions
- Reviewed by peers or experts in the subject
- Purpose is to inform or impart knowledge, not to sell, persuade, entertain
- Appears impartial--few or no advertisements, no emotional language, unbiased
Authoritative--A source can have authority even if it isn't scholarly.
- Author and/or publisher is an expert on the subject
- Author's affiliations and contact information are available
Other Criteria-- these are not definitive, but worthy of consideration:
- Do you see errors in spelling, grammar, data?
- Is the publication in turn cited by other credible works published later?
- How current is the information (no date? be suspicious)?