Welcome to the George Mason University Libraries Articles & more tutorial.
Mason Libraries has a large collection of electronic resources, including access to over 800 databases that index thousands of articles, ebooks, images, and videos and there are many ways to access them. In this video you will learn how to access the databases using the ‘articles & more’ tab on the library’s homepage and how do a basic search to find articles.
To get started, go to the library’s homepage at library.gmu.edu.
Next, click on the ‘articles & more’ tab.
There are 3 ways to access the databases. First, if you know the title of the database you want, like
Academic Search Complete , you can type the title in the search box. Second, you can browse by title using the A-Z list. Or third, you can browse the database portal.
The database portal is organized by subject or format. To access subject specific resources click on the subject link and choose the resource or resources that best fit your need. Above the subjects there are other links for reference sources, videos and images, ebooks, etc.
Let’s look at the ‘basic topics.’
This is a great place to start your research and to gather background information because these databases are more general and cover a variety of topics. If you’re on campus, these links will take you directly to the resources. If you’re off campus you will have to logon with your Mason NetID and password.
Let’s look at the database Academic Search Complete .
Once inside the database, you’ll see search boxes at the top of the page for you to type in you keyword or words and some limiters below.
Let’s do a quick search on the economic development in and around the coal producing areas of the
Shanxi province in North China.
From the results page, you can see the number of hits and the title of the hits, along with some limiters to refine your search. Use the search boxes to add more terms or to change terms. Since this search only yielded 9 hits, let’s add additional keywords.
On the left side of the screen are more limiters like date, source type, and subject. In the middle of the screen are your results. Scroll through the results until you find an item that looks useful.
Let’s look at result number 2, Economic development under the constraints of environmental policy .
The document record will give a more detailed look at the item. If it meets your needs, access it by clicking on the full text link. If there’s no full text link, like result #3, a critical-analysis on the development of China hydropower , click on the Mason link to search for the article in another database.
Also, on the right side of the screen, under tools you can email, save, and cite the article.

Because many of the databases are set up differently let’s take a look at another example, Proquest
Research Library . This database also has a search box and some limiters.
Let’s look for information on the same topic.
From the results page, you can see the number of hits, the title of the hits, and some limiters to refine your search topic. You can add additional terms or change terms in the search box to narrow or broaden your results. You can also use the limiters on the right side of the screen like source type, subject, and date. Once you find an item that looks interesting, click on the title to get a more detailed look at it. Let’s look at result number 1, the impact of energy consumption and economic development on changes in
China’s provincial-level environmental quality . If the article is useful, you can email, print, save, or cite it.
Mason Libraries has many electronic resources available for your research needs and many options to access these resources. The 'Articles & more' tab is just one of those ways. Through this tab you can search and find thousands of articles, ebooks, videos, and images.
If you're having trouble or need help, Ask a Librarian or check out other videos like 'QuickSearch' and
'Books & more.'