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Mathematics: Papers

Research databases and more

Find mathematics journal articles and conference papers using these research databases:

Not sure where to start? The databases below cover many disciplines including math, business, economics, health, life science, physical science, and technology.

Find guides for other research areas.

News and business databases

 Important things to know before getting started:

  • If you intend to use any of these tools for course projects or thesis research, make sure you consult with your instructor or research supervisor beforehand.
  • At the University of Waterloo, Microsoft Copilot is the Information Systems & Technology (IST) recommended GenAI tool. University accounts can be used to log into Microsoft Copilot which can be used for experimentation and to boost productivity. Accessing this service with your UWaterloo account will automatically provide you with personal and company data protection. Non-UWaterloo accounts should never be used in conjunction with University data.
  • Some of these tools allow for the end-user to load their own files (.pdf, Word, etc.) into their platform. Please read their terms of service and make sure you understand if/how they will retain the files that you add onto their platform, and whether or not they will be used for further training of the service. 

Access the full text

If you don't see a link to the PDF or if there is a paywall, look for the "Get it @ Waterloo" button Get it at Waterloo icon

Clicking on "Get it @ Waterloo"  will take you to our catalogue record for that paper. If the full text is available through a University of Waterloo subscription, you will see a link to the full text. 

If you have any issues with the full text links, please use the "Report a Problem" button in the catalogue record so we can help.

​If we don't have it online, you will see a link to a request form. Submit the form to have the paper emailed to you.

Journal articles and books not available in Omni

If the material you need is not available in Omni, you can request it using the blank request form found at the top of the Omni results screen under Interlibrary Loan.

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Search techniques

Use AND to combine concepts so you can find articles that include all of your words.

Use OR to combine synonyms so you can find articles that include any of your words.

Use the * (asterisk) at the end of a root word to find that word and all of it's possible endings.

For example, searching Canad* will retrieve any articles that contain the words Canada, Canadian or Canadians.

 

Use " " (quotation marks) to search for a phrase. This will ensure that you only find articles that contain those exact words in that exact order.

Parentheses, or rounded brackets, () are used to separate concepts from each other and keep keywords within concepts together.  

Create an effective search strategy

1. Create a search strategy by breaking down your research topic into individual concepts:

How can we teach financial literacy to university students?

becomes teach, financial literacy, and students

2. Think of different words to describe each concept (like synonyms), these are keywords:

teach can also be thought of as learning or education

financial literacy can be phrased as financially literate

3. Use Boolean Operators to combine your keywords into a strategy that a research database can read

(teach OR learning OR education)

AND (financial literacy OR financially literate)

AND (students)

4. Use search symbols to improve your search strategy

(teach* OR learn* OR educat*) AND (“financial literacy” OR “financially literate”) AND (student*)

Searching for background information

Need to find background or basic information on a topic from a journal article? Add the term 'review' to your search as another concept. Review articles summarize the information known on a topic which make them great for getting started!

Example: 

("travelling salesman problem" OR TSP) AND review