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Racer Library Tutorial - MPA Program (POL 670, 671, 681, etc.)

JSTOR

Finding Articles with JSTOR

JSTOR is a major interdisciplinary research database that features a full-text archive of academic journals in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences. It also provides access to various book chapters from academic publishers. 

Once you log in to JSTOR using your Murray State credentials, you will be presented with the search screen below. 

Type your search terms in into the boxes utilizing Boolean Operators. Click "Add row" to add additional search boxes.  Let's try an example. Our sample research question is "How do non-profits help out the homeless in urban environments?" First, let's identify the key terms of our research question. We want to find articles that discuss non-profits, the homeless, and urban environments

Let's type those terms into each box and run the search!

Those search terms yielded 181 results, including not only journal articles but also book chapters and research reports. 

search results arrow pointing to subject listing

On the search page, you are able to filter by subject. Note, this refers to the subjects connected to the journal an article is published in, and NOT the article itself. Keep this in mind as you use the subject filter.

Let's go through a few things we can this on this page.

  1. Article title, author information, publication information, DOI, and permalink
  2. Abstract (a summary of key goals and findings of the article)
  3. Citation formatter
  4. Download a PDF of the article to your device
  5. Online Article Viewer