Articles Search: Articles

To search millions of articles licensed by UW-Madison all at the same time, go to the UW-Madison Libraries’ homepage and choose “Articles” from the drop-down menu above the search bar. You can search by topic search terms or a specific article title. Note that this is only a subset of the articles we have access to at UW-Madison.

To Find a Specific Article:

If you’re looking for a specific article, you can search for the title of the journal in which the article is published. Once you’ve found the correct journal, you can then search for a specific article within that journal using databases.

Locate the Journal

1. Starting from the UW-Madison Libraries’ homepage, select “Journals” from the drop-down menu above the search box, then select “Citation Search.” 
2. Add the journal title to the search box and hit Enter or Return on your keyboard to search. If you prefer, you can enter a DOI or PubMed ID instead of the title.
3. Locate your journal title from the available options and select the title to view options. 
4. Select the “View Online” button or “Available Issues / Request a Copy” button at the top of the page, and select the resource that matches the year from your citation.

Access the Article

1. Locate your article by either browsing for your volume and issue, or by searching for the article title within the database’s journal record page.
2. Once you locate an article record, look for the full text version: PDF, HTML, or Linked.
   • If there is not a full text version, select “Find It at UW-Madison.”
   • You may select “Look for Print and Other Formats in the Library Catalog” to search for a print version of the journal.
   • Or select “Request a Copy” to request an electronic copy via Interlibrary Loan.

To Find Articles on a Topic:

See Searching Databases

Catalog Search: Books, Magazines, Streaming Videos, and more

See Searching the Library Catalog

When searching the UW-Madison Libraries’ catalog, you will find materials the Libraries have purchased, such as:

• Books
• Journals
• Magazines
• Newspapers
• DVDs
• Board games
• Video games
• Etc.

A catalog search also shows materials that the Libraries have licensed:

• E-books
• Online Journals
• Streaming Videos
• Etc.

The default catalog search is set to include both UW-Madison and UW System resources. To search only items at UW-Madison, select the “Limit to UW-Madison” option found directly under the catalog search box.

Additionally, by choosing the WorldCat link in the Catalog search box on the Libraries’ homepage, you can search library catalogs from around the world. From there, you can use Interlibrary Loan to request an item be sent to any UW-Madison Library.

Databases Search: Databases

To Find a Specific Database:

Use this method if you know the exact name of the database you want to search.

1. Start at the UW-Madison Libraries homepage and select the word “Catalog” above the large search box. This will open a drop-down menu.
2. Select “Databases” from the drop-down menu.
3. Type the name of an article database into the search box and select the “Submit” button.
4. From the list of results, select “Go to this Database” to open the database, or select the name of the article database. You will be taken to a new page describing the database content.
5. Select “Go to this Database” in the right column of the new page and the database will open.

To Find Databases by Topic:

Use this method if you know the subject matter you want to search for but don’t know an exact database name.

1. Start at the UW-Madison Libraries homepage and select the word “Catalog” above the large search box. This will open a drop-down menu.
2. Select “Databases” from the drop-down menu.
3. Select the “Browse by Subject/Type” link under the search bar.
4. Select an area that fits your research area. Each subject page contains a list of many article databases.
   1. These are divided into Core Databases, which contain information closely related to the subject area, and Also Helpful Databases, which are sometimes very specific and sometimes more peripherally related to the subject.
5. From the list of results, select “Go to this Database” to open the database, or select the name of the article database. You will be taken to a new page describing the database content.
6. Select “Go to this Database” in the right column of the new page and the database will open.

Journals Search: Journals and Articles within Journals

There are a few ways to search for journals as well as articles within journals.

To Find a Specific Journal: 

1. Starting from the UW-Madison Libraries homepage, select “Journals” from the drop-down menu above the search box.
2. Type the exact journal title into the search box and select the “Submit” button.
3. From the search results, select the title of the journal. There may be more than one record for the journal, make sure you select the title of the correct edition/version.
4. The search results will list “Online” or “Physical” for each item to indicate access options.

To Find Journals by Topic:

1. Starting from the UW-Madison Libraries homepage, select “Journals” from the drop-down menu above the search box..
2. Type in your keywords in the search box and select the “Submit” button.
3. In the results, you can browse by a variety of limiters:
   • Available Online
   • Print/Physical Items
   • Limit to UW-Madison
   • Libraries
   • Subjects
   • Creators
   • Languages
   • Places

Newspapers: Finding a Specific Newspaper

• Accessing the New York Times
• Accessing the Wall Street Journal

To Find a Specific Newspaper:

1. Starting from the UW-Madison Libraries’ homepage, select “Journals” from the “Catalog” drop-down menu above the search box. 
2. Type the name of the newspaper you are searching for in the search box, e.g. “Washington Post.”
3. Change drop-down from “Keywords” to “Title” and select “Available Online.” 
4. Select the “Submit” button. 
5. In the results, locate the newspaper and select the title to open the record.
6. In the record, select “View Online” to view the online access options as well as the time span covered for each option.

To Browse all Newspaper Databases:

1. Starting from the UW-Madison Libraries’ homepage, select “Databases” from the “Catalog” drop-down menu above the search box. 
2. Select “Browse by Subject/Type.” 
3. Select the “Type” tab. This leads you to a list of source types including newspapers. 
4. Choose “Newspapers.” Each type leads to a list of database options. These are divided into Core Databases, Current News Databases, Historical Databases, etc.
5. Select a database name to see the time span and contents covered in the database.
6. To use the database, select “Go to this Database” underneath the database name in the search results, or once you have selected the database name and arrived at the database information page.

Note: In databases, most articles are presented as text only and do not include images, graphs and charts, and video. 

UWDC: Digital collections, images, sound recordings, and more

The UW-Digitized Collections contain rare and unique photos, books, maps, recordings, archival documents, and more from across the UW, Wisconsin, and the world. You can search and browse items or collections.

To Find a Specific UWDC Item:

1. Type the item name into the search box. 
2. Select the item from the list of search results. 
3. You can view and download the item from the record.

To Find UWDC Items by Topic:

1. Type subject or topic search terms into the text box.
2. You can refine the search from the search results page by limiting collections, formats, and more. 
3. View and download relevant items from the record.

You can also browse collections. Collections are organized materials that span a range of subjects including art, ecology, literature, history, music, natural resources, science, social sciences, the State of Wisconsin, and the University of Wisconsin.