In order to find articles on economic topics in general (as opposed to data and data sets), you would begin by looking at the databases dealing with this subject. You can go to the Mardigian Library Homepage and click on the Databases button:
Once you arrive at the databases page, select the "Economics" subject heading from the drop-down list as illustrated in the image below:
The databases are listed in alphabetical order with a description for each one. It is recommended that you search multiple databases since each one has unique content.
These are some of the best databases that you will be able to use for locating materials in the Economics subject area. These databases will allow you to locate peer-reviewed scholarly articles on your topics.
ProQuest Research Library - Academic and general articles about a broad range of subjects including arts, business, children, education, general interest, health, humanities, international, law, military, multicultural, psychology, sciences, social sciences, and women's interests. Covers 1971 to present.
EconLit - Journal articles and working papers on economics issues since 1969 can be found here.
JSTOR - Journal articles from core scholarly journals in the liberal arts and sciences. Coverage extends from the first issue of journals included to 3 - 5 years before the present.
Professors believe the following criteria should be kept in mind when evaluating resources to determine their level of quality:
1. The material should be from a credible or known or trusted publication like the American Economic Review, Econometrica, Quarterly Journal of Economics, or Public Policy and Administration if you are looking for scholarly material.
Here is a list of publications that you can search through that have a title that begins with or has the term Economics in it. Additionally, if you would like to search for economic journals, you can go to the Find a Specific Journal List.
2. The material should be without bias. The material should not favor one position or the other but rather state facts and possibly multiple positions.
3. The material should be authored by professionals, experts, and credentialed individuals. Does the author work in the trade? Does the author teach in the discipline? Does the author hold a Ph.D.?
4. The material should be researched and verifiable. Does the material show evidence of research and include a bibliography of the author's research? If there is no depth of research can the material be checked for accuracy? Does the author point to anything that can be checked?
5. The material should ideally be peer-reviewed. This type of material is the gold standard for information on a topic. In order to be peer-reviewed, the article is submitted to a reputable journal such as the American Economic Review. Other experts in the field of economics review the article for accuracy and other criteria that meet the acceptance standards set by that publication.
6. The material should be current. Material considered to be current is less than five years old unless you are looking for information from an historical perspective.
7. The material should be legible. The language within the material should not contain too much jargon. Sentences should be of a reasonable length and flow in a logical thought pattern.
Search Tips
JSTOR
Use the Advanced Search option (rather than the default basic search). It gives you more searching options.
Use quotation marks to keep a search phrase intact.
Use Boolean operators for precision searching. “And” will narrow your search; “Or” will expand your search; “Not” will narrow your search by blocking the search terms you have designated.
Only 10% of JSTOR articles have abstracts so narrowing your search to the abstract field might cause you to lose some relevant articles. Consider specifying that your search term(s) appear in “all fields”.
Narrow your search by item type, language, publication date, or discipline (Economics, Statistics, etc.) JSTOR indexes 180 economic journals and 34 statistics journals.
Keep in mind that JSTOR will not have articles from the past few years.
EconLit
Use the Advanced Search option (rather than the default basic search). It gives you more searching options.
Use quotation marks to keep a search phrase intact.
Narrow your search to source type, language, or date.
Use Boolean operators for precision searching. “And” will narrow your search; “Or” will expand your search; “Not” will narrow your search by blocking the search terms you have designated.
Scroll down to the bottom of your retrieved articles. The “Other searches to try” message will suggest additional search terms.
ProQuest Research Library
(Same tips as EconLit above)
Note: EconLit and ProQuest Research Library are created by the same publisher, ProQuest, however there are differences in database content. Use EconLit first because this database contains more economic journal titles and the articles tend to be more recent. For example, in the EconLit database, articles indexed from the American Economic Review reflect up to the most recent edition, however in the ProQuest Research Library database, there is a two year lag.
