When searching in the library databases, your search results will most often default to showing you only articles that Rasmussen subscribes to the full text.  This means that you can read the whole article right away.

If you want to see all the articles on your topic, including those that Rasmussen does not own, you will want to deselect the Full text option.

When Rasmussen does not subscribe to an article you would like you read, you need to request the full text through interlibrary loan. This means we request the full text from another library.  Learn more about that process in our Accessing and Using Sources page.

Using the most recent resources on your topic ensures that you are using the most accurate information and adds credibility to your writing. Resources are typically considered "current" if they have been published within the last five years.

The library databases all have an option to limit your search results to a designated publication period. They may look different than the image below.

There are situations where older resources are acceptable, such as seminal works. Seminal sources tend to be the major studies that presented theories or ground breaking findings.

"Peer reviewed" means that before the article was accepted for publication, it was reviewed by peers, or other experts in the field.  Using the search box on the library home page/One Search? will default to showing you a variety of resources on your topic.

Click the Peer reviewed button to limit your results to articles that have been published in peer reviewed academic journals.

Keep in mind that by limiting your results to peer-reviewed, resources such as books, newspapers, magazines, and evidence-based care sheets will no longer show up in your results. Depending on what type of information you need, you may find that peer reviewed journal articles are too specific and advanced.

To learn more about peer-review and how to check if a journal is peer-reviewed, visit our Peer Review topic.

Limiting your search by source type allows you to control what types of resources show up in your results.

For example, if you are looking for current trends on a topic, you could limit your results to magazines, which will include professional publications. Or, perhaps you are looking for background information on Porter's five forces. In that case, you could limit your search to just eBooks. For more information, visit our Determining Your Information Need topic.

Databases contain additional filters you can use to narrow your search results. Click on the All filters button under the search box.