Your Inner Fish Project - Finding Academic Sources
This page will walk you through the process of finding academic sources on databases. Start by watching the video and then you can read through the material below for additional information.
What is the difference between a literature review and a primary source?
A literature review and a primary source are two distinct concepts in research. A literature review is a survey of existing research and sources on a topic. In contrast, a primary source is an original, firsthand piece of information or data directly related to the subject of study. Researchers often use both types of sources to inform and support their work, with literature reviews providing context and primary sources providing direct evidence and data.
What are keywords and Boolean operators?
Watch these two videos to learn how to use relevant keywords and Boolean operators when searching for sources.
How do I access the full text of an article?
Once you have found a source, you often have to take one more step to access the full text of the article.
❗ The BYU library provides free access to many scientific articles. Make sure you use your netID and password to log in to the library website to be more likely to gain free access.
To get the full article text you can usually click on a button near the top of the page that says “GET IT! @ BYU“download PDF,” “View PDF” or “full article.”