JSTOR is a database that archives full-text articles from a variety of different disciplines. However, because it is an archive, it does not contain the most recent articles from these journals. There can be a gap of 1-5 years between JSTOR’s holdings and the current issue.

There are two ways you can use JSTOR: you can browse the journals categorized by discipline or you can use the basic and advanced search options. In this handout we will focus on how to search JSTOR’s database using its advanced search options.

JSTOR Advanced Search

Once you enter JSTOR, you should find a page that looks something like the screenshot below. This is the basic search page for JSTOR. However, to get the full benefit of its search features, click on the advanced search link.

The advanced search allows you to search for terms in various areas of the article (title, author, abstract, full-text). It also gives you the option to connect your search terms using Boolean operators (and, or, and not). Finally, you can also limit your results by type, date, or language. One of the most important limiters is JSTOR’s ability to limit the results by discipline. This means that it will only search those journals dealing with that particular area (like anthropology or history).

Once you initiate you search, JSTOR should display your results like this (see below). From here you can click on the links to view the articles, or you can modify your search using the top button. You can also manipulate the results by sorting by date or journal title (relevance is the default).

Additional Search Strategies

You can use these search functions in JSTOR to help you search more efficiently. Many of the other databases also contain these functions, however the symbols used may be different, so remember to check the out the help feature for more information.

• Boolean Operators allow you to combine search terms
  • AND combines two search terms producing results that contain both terms (e.g. birds AND bees)
  • OR between two search terms generates results that contain either of the terms (e.g. dogs OR canines)
  • NOT excludes one of the terms, which means that the results will include one of the terms, but not the other (cats NOT musical)
  • You can string Boolean phrases together using parenthesis [(cats NOT musical) AND (dogs OR canines)]
• When using quotation marks a search will look for only that specific phrase. A search for “natural selection” will generate results with that specific phrase, but results for natural selection will contain natural AND selection somewhere in the entry.
• JSTOR’s Wildcards allow you to look for multiple versions of a word. ? replaces a single letter (wom?n), while  * replaces multiple letters. Astro* gives you results which can include the terms, astronomer, astronomy, astrology, astronaut, etc.