WPI Library Search (the main search box on the library homepage) searches across most of the library's resources at once and can be used to find books, articles, and more. Enter your keywords to get started. Then use the tips below to refine your search results.
Use these search terms to narrow or broaden your search:
Term |
Example |
Result |
AND |
media AND bias |
Narrows the search to entries containing both terms. |
OR |
cats OR kittens |
Broadens the search to entries containing either term. |
NOT |
bat NOT baseball |
Excludes entries containing the second term. |
“ ” |
“social work” |
Retrieves results containing the exact phrase in quotes. |
? |
globali?ation |
Wildcard: Retrieves both globalization and globalisation. |
* |
feminis* |
Truncation: Retrieves feminism, feminist, feminists, etc. |
After you search, refine your search results using the filters on the left. Filter by availability, resource type, publication date, and more.
To save items and to set up a saved search in the WPI Library Search, you need to be signed in to WPI Library account. You can sign in by clicking on "Library Account" on the library homepage.
Or, if you have already begun searching in the WPI Library Search, you can click on "Sign in" in the top right corner.
To save items in the WPI Library Search, enter your search terms and select your search filters. When you find an item you want to save, click on the "pin" icon to the right of the title.
To set up a saved search in the WPI Library Search, enter your keywords and select your search filters. For example, here we are searching for climate change mitigation and we have turned on the "peer-reviewed" filter. At the top of the search results, click on "Save query."
After you click "Save query," a yellow bar will appear at the top of the page with an option to "turn on notifications for this query."
You can access your saved items and saved searches by clicking on the pin icon in the top right of the WPI Library Search (make sure you are signed in!).
From here, you can view your saved records, saved searches, and your search history.
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Use the databases listed below to find journal articles, books, and book chapters related to your research topic. These databases have been broken down into different categories. Depending on your research topic, you may need to conduct research in databases from several different categories.
For biology research, you may also want to consult the databases for Health & Medicine, Psychology, and Environmental Science. The general science databases Scopus and ScienceDirect will also be useful for biology research.
For environmental science research, you will also want to consult the general science databases Scopus and ScienceDirect.
For psychology and behavioral science research, you will also want to consult the Health & Medicine databases.
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Books are a vital sources of historical scholarship. To find books at the Gordon Library, type your keywords into the WPI Library Search. Use the drop-down menu to the right of the search box to select "Books & Media."
To limit your search to online books, go to the Availability filter on the left and select Available online.
To limit your search to print books, go to the Availability filter on the left and select Available on shelf.
A peer-reviewed journal is a respected publication. Before articles are published within these types of journals, they are sent by the editors of the journal to other scholars in the field ("peers"), often anonymously, to get feedback on the quality of the scholarship, review research methods, as well as relevance or importance to the field. The article may be accepted, often with revisions suggested, or rejected for publication. Many peer-reviewed journals have low acceptance rates.
Peer-reviewed articles are typically substantial in length (often 10 pages or more) and typically have many citations.
To find peer reviewed articles in WPI Library Search, enter your keywords and then choose the Peer-Reviewed Journals filter on the left.
Use BrowZine to find journals available at WPI. Search by journal title or browse by subject to find relevant journals. You can access BrowZine using the "Journals" link on the library homepage:
You can create an account in Browzine to save journals and set up alerts. Click on the "gear" icon in the top right corner to set up your account. Use your WPI email address and the password of your choice.
Once you have a Browzine account, you can add journals to your "Bookshelf."
You can access journals in your bookshelf by clicking on "My Bookshelf" at the top of the screen in Browzine.
Newspaper articles can be good places to learn about new research, but use caution when reading newspaper articles and other popular news sources about scientific studies. These reports may be sensationalized or may leave out important information about a study. When you learn about a new study in a popular news source, look up the original study to get more details about it. Often news articles will mention the lead authors of the study, the topic of the study, and sometimes the name of the publication where the original study can be found (for example the New England Journal of Medicine). Use these clues to look for the original study in WPI Library Search or Google Scholar.
To find newspaper articles in WPI Library Search, type your keywords into the search box, then click on Resource Type to the left of the search results, and then select the Newspaper Articles filter:
The Gordon Library provides free access for current students, faculty, and staff with a WPI email address to NYTimes.com. This service will provide you with an e-subscription to The New York Times to stay connected with the events of the day. In addition, you will have access to the extensive NYT database dating back to 1851 – a tremendous research tool.
To set up your account, go to:
http://www.accessnyt.com/ (If on campus or otherwise within the WPI IP range or on VPN)
http://ezproxy.wpi.edu/login?url=http://ezmyaccount.nytimes.com/grouppass/redir (If off campus and outside the WPI IP range)
Once you have activated your account you can log in no matter where you are at https://www.nytimes.com/
**WPI NYT faculty & staff subscribers need to renew your "academic pass" once every 4 years, on or before your registration anniversary date. (Students will have access until their graduation date.)
To do this, follow these steps:
1. Navigate to accessnyt.com (from campus or using the VPN)
2. Search for/select Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Then follow the directions to activate the Academic Pass.
Once completed, your digital access will be active and you can navigate directly to nytimes.com from any web-enabled device.
Tips and Troubleshooting
Current WPI students, faculty, and staff can access The Wall Street Journal online through Gordon Library's subscription service. To activate your account go to https://partner.wsj.com/partner/WorcesterPolytechnicInstitute. You'll be prompted to log in with your WPI username and password. Then, you'll create your WSJ account with a new password, using your WPI email address.
For students, when you register for your WSJ account, you will need to indicate your date of graduation, and your account will stay active until that date. Faculty and staff will need to renew their accounts annually. If you see a "Membership Inactive" message when trying to log in to the Wall Street Journal, use the activation link above to reactivate your account.
Once you have activated your account you can log in no matter where you are at https://www.wsj.com/
Search and review patents to understand:
When searching in the library's databases, you may find an abstract for an article but not the full-text. When this happens, click on the FullTextFinder icon.
The FullTextFinder will either redirect you to another database that has the full-text of the article or it will tell you that we don't have this article in our collections. If we don't have an article that you need, request the article via Interlibrary Loan. Interlibrary Loan (ILL) is a service that allows WPI students and faculty to request items from other libraries free of charge.
Is there something you need that the WPI library doesn't have? Our Interlibrary Loan service allows WPI students and faculty to request items from other libraries free of charge.
Use WorldCat.org to search for books, articles, and more at libraries around the world. Request materials from other libraries via Interlibrary Loan.
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