Provide:
Up-to-date information
Focus on a narrow aspect of topic
Opinion/point of view
Original/timely source material
Scholarly, Peer Reviewed and/or Refereed Journals generally have:
Original research
Rigorous acceptance process by scholars in the field
Author’s credentials presented
Abstract (summary)
Footnotes at the bottom of the page or endnotes at the end of the article
Bibliography or a list of references at the end of the article
Searching in a database is different than searching in Google. Databases do NOT like sentences. So when you are searching for articles in OneSearch or one of our databases, you want to write down as many keywords and phrases that best describe your topic. Once you have those keywords/phrases, try different combinations in order to construct a search strategy. Use the word "and" when combining your keywords/phrases in one of our databases. You do not need link your keywords/phrases with "and" in OneSearch.
Start with keyword(s) and/or phrase(s) that are as specific as possible:
Chinese Americans and intermarriage and Brooklyn
If your search results are too limited, try to broaden your search:
Asian Americans and intermarriage and New York City
Chinese Americans and New York City
Chinese Americans and intermarriage
Chinese Americans and marriage
You can access online magazine/journal/newspaper articles remotely through OneSearch OR by searching within one of our many databases.
Refer to the Keyword Searching box in this guide to help you developing your search query.
1. Using OneSearch: type in your keyword(s) and/or phrase(s) and limit your search to Articles by clicking inside the circle marked Articles (see below). You may also specify peer-reviewed articles if you'd like:
You can also limit your results to articles and/or peer-reviewed only on the left side of the screen once you retrieve your list of search results.
Click on the Available online link in OneSearch and choose the database, or one of the databases under View Online, Try a link below! to access the fulltext of the article you choose. Clicking on one of the online options should open a window directly to your article.
You will see our John Jay login page if you have not already logged in. Use your John Jay email ID and password to login. If you do not know your John Jay email username/password or you are experiencing problems with your login, go to reset.jjay.cuny.edu to either set up or reset your John Jay email account. Contact the DoIt Helpdesk at 212.237.8200 if you need further assistance.
Although anyone off campus can search for materials in OneSearch, most electronic articles come from our library databases where material is restricted--you will be prompted to login. Please refer to the Off Campus Access tab in this guide for detailed login information.
2. Using a database: to use one of our many library databases, click Databases from our Library's homepage. Click inside the pulldown menu marked Select from popular databases, or choose from our list of databases by subject or title:
Databases may cover one subject, or many simultaneously. They may be comprised of one type of information source (only newspapers, videos, or statistics for example) or contain many kinds of sources (magazines, newspapers, journals, videos, etc.). Choose databases by determining your subject and also what kind of information you are seeking.
Electronic materials from our library databases are generally restricted to the John Jay College community for remote access so you may be prompted to login. Please refer to the Off Campus Access tab in this guide for detailed login information.
Remember, not every database is full text, meaning that sometimes they are finding aids and the actual article you want may be found in another database or on a different webpage. If you do not see a full text link (either PDF or HTML) for a specific article in one of our databases:
Click 
to determine if the full text is available elsewhere:
Once you click on Find it! @ CUNY, your browser will open another window to OneSearch showing full text options if available.
If there are no full text options available from our library, you may request articles from other libraries through our Interlibrary Loan service.
If there are no full text options available from the Lloyd Sealy Library, you may request articles from other libraries through our Interlibrary Loan service. Register for an account using your John Jay email username and password (excluding the @jjay.cuny.edu). If you do not know your John Jay email username and/or password, or if you're having difficulty logging in, go to reset.jjay.cuny.edu to either create or reset your password. If you are experiencing difficulties, contact the DoIt Helpdesk at 212.237.8200 or helpdesk@jjay.cuny.edu for further assitance. Once you register, you can request articles. You will receive an email, generally within one week, that the article is available in your ILL account and ready to download.