Wikipedia:Find your source

This page is about finding a specific source. For finding new sources, see Wikipedia:FIND.

The Wikipedia Library

Find your source

When researching with Wikipedia, you should read the cited sources – but how can you find them?

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Scholarly Journal Articles Books Newspaper articles More help finding a sources Help using Wikipedia in Research

Academic Journal articles

• If a DOI or other identifier is included, you can click on it to find an online copy of the article. This may or may not be free to access, but will give you a place to start. If the article does not appear free to access, you may still be able to find the article elsewhere, whether online or through a nearby library. Consider the resources in the following points as further guides to accessing such articles.
• Search for the article title on Google Scholar. If the initial result is behind a paywall, try clicking on the "All X versions" link - this will tell you if other databases include this article, and may help you find an open version. From here, you may be able to find additional sources on similar topics by clicking either the "Related Articles” or “Cited By” links appearing under most article’s link in the results. Articles found using these links and may provide you with information to expand your search.
• Use OAIster or another open-access search engine to look for an open version of the article
• Using either the DOI, Google Scholar, or the journal's website, find out what databases index the article in full text. You can then see if either your local library or TWL provides access to these databases.
• Use WorldCat to see if your local library has a physical version of the journal
• Request the article or the journal through your library's interlibrary loan service, if available
• Look through the journals sources page for more ideas on how to find the article.

Books

• If the citation includes a ISBN, click on it to locate online versions of the book, or to find it through online databases or local or national libraries
• See if other editions are available (although the content or pagination may differ)
• Use WorldCat to see if your local library has a physical version of the book
• Request the book through your library's interlibrary loan service, if available

Newspaper articles

• If possible, search a quote from the article to see if it has been republished elsewhere
• If the article is behind a paywall, see if either your local library or TWL provides access to the newspaper or to a database that indexes it in full text
• Check the list of online newspaper archives (some of which are free to access) or the list of free English newspaper sources. There are also other digitized-newspaper archives, particularly for older articles, that may be available.
• Use WorldCat to see if your local library has a physical (print or microfilm) version of the newspaper issue containing the article
• Request the article or the newspaper through your library's interlibrary loan service, if available
• See if an archived version of the article is available via a search feature on the newspaper’s website

Get help on-wiki

• Ask at the Reference Desk
• Explore The Wikipedia Library
• Request a source at the Resource Exchange
• Find shared Wikipedia community library resources