UW-Madison Libraries Search Box – Dropdown Options

There are various ways to find resources from the UW-Madison Libraries’ homepage. Each of the search box dropdown options searches a different subset of UW-Madison purchased or licensed resources.

Catalog Search – Books, Magazines, Streaming Videos, and more

This catalog:

• does *not* search for or find individual articles.
• does search for books, journals, magazines, newspapers, DVDs, board games, video games, etc. that UW-Madison Libraries have purchased as well as e-books, online journals, and streaming videos, etc. that have been licensed.
• defaults to include both UW Madison and UW System resources. To search only items at UW-Madison, select the “Limit to UW-Madison” option found directly under the catalog search box.

Additionally, by choosing the WorldCat link at the bottom of the catalog search box on the Libraries’ home page, you can search library catalogs from around the world. From there you can use Interlibrary Loan to request an item be sent to any UW-Madison Library.

Articles Search – Articles

• Although this is only a subset of the articles we have access to at UW-Madison, you can search through millions of articles using this option.
• This search may be sufficient for some topics, but if you are completing an in-depth search or need many scholarly articles, you will need to use multiple subject specific databases from the UW Libraries’ website.

Database Search – Databases

There are several ways to search for databases and articles within databases.

• To find a specific database, either
  • type the database name into the search box. Click on the Access Database link to open and then search within that database or…
  • type subject words that might be in the description of the database. Click on the Access Database link to open and then search within that database.
• To find articles about a subject/topic you need information about, you need to find one of our 1000s of databases to search. For that purpose, try one of the links below the search box:
  • Introductory Databases. This includes a list of subjects/disciplines and one introductory article database suggested to use for each. Using sources from various subjects can expand the perspective of the research.
  • Browse by Subject/Type. This leads you to a long list of subjects and disciplines. Choose one that matches your topic or area of research. Each subject link will then lead you to a list of database options.
    • Getting Started. This is a suggested database which includes a wide range of articles or other items in the subject area.
    • Core. This section includes many databases to search on the topic, some are broad and some are very specific. You will need to read the descriptions to make a choice about the database. 
    • Other boxes include more specific subsets of databases based on the subject matter.

Journal Search –  Journals and Articles within Journals

There are a few ways to search for journals as well as articles within journals.

• To find a specific journal, 
  • Type the exact journal title into the search box
  • From the search results, select the title of the journal. There may be more than one record for the journal, make sure you click on the title of the correct edition/version.
  • Select the Access Database button.

• To find a specific article, you have several options:
  • If you have the DOI, click on the Citation Search link on the bottom of the search box and then enter the number into the DOI search box.
  • If you have the article title, type the journal title in the search box and then navigate or search for the specific article from there.