AN INTRODUCTION TO THE
JSTOR ACADEMIC DATABASE
Angel Foreman
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction .................................................................................................. 3
What is JSTOR?...................................................................................... 3
Why Use JSTOR? ................................................................................... 3
Procedure Details .................................................................................... 3
What You Will Learn ........................................................................... 3
What You Will Need............................................................................ 3
Estimated Time for Completion .......................................................... 3
Instructions ................................................................................................... 4
Accessing JSTOR From NCTC’s Homepage .......................................... 4
Conducting Advanced Searches in JSTOR ............................................. 4
Using Boolean Operators for Advanced Searches ............................. 5
What Are Boolean Operators?....................................................... 5
Boolean Operators Used on JSTOR ............................................. 5
Adding Boolean Operators to Your JSTOR Search ....................... 6
Searching by Document Abstract Only ............................................... 6
Searching by Item Type(s).................................................................. 7
Searching by Publication Date Range ................................................ 7
Saving Source Information to Your Device for Future Access ................. 8
Downloading and Saving a JSTOR Source as a PDF ........................ 8
Copying a JSTOR Source’s Stable URL ............................................ 9
Conclusion ................................................................................................... 10
Additional Information................................................................................... 10
More About ITHAKA ................................................................................ 10
Formatting Advanced Searches from the JSTOR Homepage ................. 10
Searching with Boolean Operators ..................................................... 10
Searching by Document Type(s) ........................................................ 10
References ................................................................................................... 11
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INTRODUCTION
This instruction manual will teach you how to access and navigate the JSTOR online
academic database.
What is JSTOR?
JSTOR, founded in 1994, is a digital library and online database that holds over 12
million pieces of academic material spanning across 75 disciplines. It is a part of the
not-for-profit organization ITHAKA that serves the academic community through digital
technology. (See page 10 for more information about ITHAKA.)
Why Use JSTOR?
JSTOR provides access to journal articles, books, images, and primary sources for both
academic and non-academic use. It serves as a credible source for both personal
learning and educational applications where outside research is required.
Procedure Details
What you will learn
How to access JSTOR from NCTC’s homepage
Examples of Boolean operators and how to use them
How to conduct an advanced search on JSTOR using various criteria
How to download and save a JSTOR source as a PDF
How to copy a JSTOR source’s stable URL
What you will need
Desktop/laptop computer or mobile device
Reliable Internet access
NCTC OneLogin account and login information
Estimated time for full procedure completion
30-45 minutes
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INSTRUCTIONS
ACCESSING JSTOR FROM NCTC’S HOMEPAGE
There may come a time when you need or want to utilize JSTOR’s vast collection of
data and research, whether for academic, professional, or personal purposes. To begin
this process, you must first gain access to the JSTOR database. In the case of these
instructions, we will assume you are accessing JSTOR through the NCTC homepage as
an NCTC student to use for either course work or personal learning. Here are the steps
to achieve that access:
1. Open the search engine of your choice.
2. Enter “nctc.edu” into the search bar to go to the NCTC homepage.
3. Click the One Login Portal access button.
a. If on desktop/computer full screen, click the One Login button at the top of
your screen located between the search icon and “My NCTC”.
b. If on mobile or desktop/computer split screen, click the two horizontal lines
in the top right corner of the homepage, then under “My NCTC” click the
One Login button.
4. Log in with your NCTC username and password to be
taken to the One Login apps screen.
5. Click the “Library databases” tile; this will take you to the
“Research Databases” page.
6. Scroll down to the “Databases by Category” list, then
click the + sign by “Academic Journals” to open a
Figure 1. “Library Databases”
dropTile on One Login apps screen
down menu.
7. Click the link for JSTOR to open the database.
CONDUCTING ADVANCED SEARCHES IN JSTOR
Now that you have gained access to JSTOR, it is time to conduct your first search.
JSTOR allows for either general or advanced searches through its database records. In
this section, you will learn some methods for conducting advanced searches on JSTOR
based on specific criteria such as Boolean operators, document type, and publication
date range. There is also additional information about advanced search methods
and formatting at the end of this document. For this manual, we will be using the
article “The Psychology of Religion and the Religion of Psychology” by Alana Conner
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Snibbe and Hazel Rose Markus to center examples around. See Figure 2 below for the
article’s general information.
Figure 2. “The Psychology of Religion and the Religion of Psychology” general information
including document type, name, authors, publication information, and Stable URL
Using Boolean Operators for Advanced Searches
What are Boolean operators? Boolean operators, named after mathematician George
Boole, are a type of keyword used to generate optimal, specific search results based on
certain criteria. Note: See more in-depth explanation and examples of Boolean
operators on page x. The following sections include information on the Boolean
operators used in JSTOR’s search menu and how to integrate them into your searches.
Boolean operators used in JSTOR. JSTOR utilizes several Boolean operators as a
way to help narrow advanced search results. The terms used in this database are
AND, OR, NOT, and NEAR. Below is a brief explanation of each of these terms, as
well as things to remember when utilizing them in your searches.
 AND requires records pulled for the search to contain all listed terms. E.g.,
“religion AND psychology.”
o More terms linked using “AND” throughout the same search leads to fewer
results due to higher level of specificity required with each term added.
 OR expands a concept to include synonyms and will retrieve search results using
one or both terms listed. E.g., “religion OR psychology.”
o More terms linked using “OR” throughout the same search leads to more
results due to acceptance of results containing one or both terms.
 NOT allows for the exclusion of concepts irrelevant to listed search term(s). E.g.,
“religion NOT psychology.”
o Using “NOT” on topics that have significant overlap and/or are mentioned
in the same article can lead to fewer results for the desired topic due to
excluding one topic while in search of the other. In this case, searching
“religion NOT psychology” would result in our example document being
removed from possible results.
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
NEAR searches for terms within x words of each other in either order. (Near 5 is
within 5 words, Near 10 is within 10 words, etc.). E.g., “religion NEAR 5
psychology.”
o Searching for “Religion NEAR 5 Psychology” can give the result “Religion
____ ___ ___ ___ Psychology”, “Psychology ___ ___ ___ ___ Religion”,
or any combination of these if within 5 words of each other.
Adding Boolean operators to your JSTOR Search.
Now that you have an idea of what Boolean
operators are and how they work, it’s time to
practice adding them to your advanced
searches. Follow the steps below to
incorporate Boolean operators into your
searches.
Figure 3. Search term(s), field(s),
1. Navigate to the “Advanced Search” screen (click
and Boolean operators menu
“Advanced Search” to the top right of the main search bar
on JSTOR’s home screen)..
2. Enter your search information term(s).
3. Select your desired operator(s) for each term.
 See the “Additional Information” section for details about mixing
Boolean Operators if using more than one in your search.
4. Click “Submit Advanced Search” or Enter/Return.
Searching by Document Abstract Only
Another searchable element within this menu is the document’s field. The searchable
fields included on JSTOR are Author, Item Title, Abstract, and Caption. For this
particular manual, we are going to focus on searching for the Abstract only, but the
process is the same for each of the other searchable fields.
1. Navigate to the “Advanced Search” screen if you are not already there.
2. Click the arrow under “field” top open the drop down menu (see Figure 3
above).
3. Select “Abstract”.
 Other searchable fields include Author, Item Title, and Caption (See
additional information on page x).
4. Enter search term(s).
5. Click “Submit advanced search” or Enter/Return.
 Note: Our example article from Figure 2 does NOT have an abstract
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Searching by Item Type(s)
Another searchable source element within the Advanced Search menu is the item
type(s). The possible item types(s) to search by include Articles, Reviews, Books,
Research Reports, and Miscellaneous. Here is how to search by item type(s) in
JSTOR:
1. Navigate to the “Advanced
Search” screen if you are not
already there.
2. Enter search information/terms.
3. Scroll to the “Narrow Results” list
(Figure 4).
Figure 4. “Item Type” search list
4. Select your desired item type(s).
5. Click “Submit Advanced Search” or Enter/Return.
Searching by Publication Date Range
The last way of searching for specific documents in JSTOR that we will cover is
searching by the document’s publication date. You can search for one specific date or
for a date range. This may be useful if you have an assignment that requires sources
that were published within a specific time range. Here is how to search for a source by
a publication date range:
1. Enter search information term(s).
2. Select desired item type(s), if any.
3. Scroll to “PUBLICATION DATE” section (see Figure 5 below).
4. Enter date range in format of year only (yyyy – 2017), year/month (yyyy/mm –
2017/05), or year/month/date (yyyy/mm/dd – 2017/05/27).
 Note: This is not the publication date of “The Psychology of Religion
and the Religion of Psychology” – it is strictly an example since the
full publication date is unknown.
5. Click “Submit Advanced Search” or Enter/Return.
Figure 5. “Publication Date” search box
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SAVING SOURCE INFORMATION TO YOUR DEVICE FOR FUTURE ACCESS
Now that you have located your desired JSTOR source within the database, it is time to
learn how to save the source’s content and information to your device for future use.
For this manual, we will cover two methods for saving your source: downloading and
saving the source as a PDF, and downloading and saving the source’s Stable URL.
Downloading and Saving a JSTOR Source as a PDF
One way of saving a JSTOR source to your device is to download and save the source
as a PDF. JSTOR allows for easy PDF downloading of applicable sources
1. Select your desired JSTOR source and navigate to its designated page.
2. Find and click the red “Download” button that appears above the
document (see Figure 6).
3. Read and accept JSTOR’s “Terms & Conditions of Use” and “Privacy
Policy” (only applies to the first download on an account/device).
4. Click Download button in top right corner of opened PDF (see Figure 7).
5. Save the document under your preferred name to the desired location on
your device.
Figure 6. “Download” button directly above
selected source on its JSTOR page
Figure 7. “Download” button at the top
right of the source’s PDF screen
Copying a JSTOR Source’s Stable URL
Another way you may choose to re-access your chosen source after first use is through
a Stable URL. A Stable URL, also known as a persistent link or permalink, is a type of
link that allows you to connect directly to an online resource. In the context of this
manual, a Stable URL is useful in ensuring that you can directly access your sources at
any time without having to search the database for them again. Here is the process for
copying and saving a JSTOR source’s Stable URL for future reference.
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1. Select your desired JSTOR source and navigate to its designated page.
2. Locate the Stable URL link for that source (will have “stable” within the link).
3. For “The Psychology of Religion and the Religion of Psychology,” the stable URL
link is https://www.jstor.org/stable/1449339, as seen in Figure 2.
4. Click the “copy” button - this looks like two boxes overlapping each other (see
Figure 2).
5. Paste or save to your desired location on your device.
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CONCLUSION
Congratulations on completing this instruction manual! You should now have a general
understanding of how to access, search for, and save a source from the JSTOR
database. Remember that practice makes progress, so if you are struggling to conduct
these searches after going through these instructions, don’t be afraid to try more than
once!
Additional Information
More About ITHAKA: To learn more about JSTOR’s parent organization, ITHAKA, visit
https://www.ithaka.org/
Search Formats for Advanced Search Elements from JSTOR Homepage
Boolean Operators Search Formats from JSTOR Homepage (See page x)
Operator
Search Format
Example
AND
((Term 1) AND (Term 2))
((Religion) AND (Psychology))
OR
((Term 1) OR (Term 2))
((Religion) OR (Psychology))
NOT
((Term 1) NOT (Term 2))
((Religion) NOT (Psychology))
NEAR
((Term 1) N# (Term 2))
((Religion) N5 (Psychology))
For further explanation of Boolean operators and their definitions, uses, and formatting,
please read the following article: https://libguides.umn.edu/BooleanOperators `
Search Field Search Formats from JSTOR Homepage`(See page x)
Search Field
Abbreviation
Search Format
Example
Author
au
(au: “term”)
(au: “name”)
Title
ti
(ti: “term”)
(ti: “psychology”)
Abstract
ab
(ab: “term”)
(ab: “religion”)
Caption
ca
(ca: “term”)
(ca: “psychology”)
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REFERENCES
About JSTOR (“What is JSTOR?” – page 3) https://about.jstor.org/
Explanation of Boolean operators (“What are Boolean operators?” – page 5; “Additional
Information” – page 10) https://libguides.umn.edu/BooleanOperators
Explanation of Boolean operator NEAR (“Boolean operators used in JSTOR” – page 5)
https://libguides.bc.edu/advancedsearch/proximity
Explanation of stable links (“Copying a JSTOR Source’s Stable URL – page 8/9)
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