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Library Research Guides

Philosophy (PHIL): Articles

An introduction to finding resources in the library and online to assist with philosophy research.

Off-Campus Access

To log in from off-campus, you will need your eServices username (w+student ID) and password. 

About Articles

Scholarly (a.k.a. peer-reviewed or academic) articles are found in journals, which publish issues containing new articles at regular periods (this is why journals are a type of periodical). Journals are organized online in databases, some of which are accessible for free on the web and others which require a fee. The library subscribes to dozens of scholarly databases, both general and subject-based, which students can access for free using their LRCCD login. If you are looking for resources in a specific field, going to a subject database will produce more relevant results. 

Ideas for Search Terms

Suggestions:

  • Aesthetics
  • Eastern
  • Epistemology
  • Ethics
  • Logic
  • Metaphysics
  • Philosophy
  • Western

Basic Search Tips

QUOTATION MARKS
Put exact phrases in quotation marks

  • “I think, therefore I am”
  • “political philosophy”

KEYWORDS
Brainstorm alternative terms (synonyms)

  • theory: idea, argument, concept, doctrine
  • ethics: morals, values, belief

BOOLEAN OPERATORS
Use operators to link ideas and narrow/broaden your search

  • environment AND philosophy
  • Daoism OR Taoism
  • nihilism NOT existential

Suggested Databases for Philosophy

Types of Articles

The type of article you will want to use will depend on the nature of your research. However, scholarly, peer reviewed articles are the most common used in academic research.

Check out this video from Carnegie Vincent Library for an overview of the different types of articles. 

Suggested Journals

The journals listed below can be found in the databases to the left, but you may want to search for articles in a specific journal.