Finding Articles in Periodicals, Including Scholarly Journals, Using Library Databases
Library databases list periodical articles, and frequently other sources, and be searched in various ways, including topic, author, and article title. Databases can list popular periodical articles in magazines, scholarly articles in journals, and news articles in newspapers.
For academic research, it is often important to use peer-reviewed (or refereed) journals rather than popular magazines. Peer review is the process by which a journal article is evaluated by experts in the field. An example of a peer-reviewed journal is Policy Studies. An example of a popular magazine is Time.
Note: Databases include many articles and other sources that are not available in full text. For such items, interlibrary loan is a service by which the library can request these items from other libraries. For directions, see a reference librarian.
The following databases are listed on the library website in the alphabetical title list (A-Z list) under Databases. After clicking on Databases, you can also find lists of databases by subject by dropping down the menu at All Subjects in the A-Z list.
Selected Databases Covering Many Subjects
- Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new windowProvides full text for selected scholarly journals and popular magazines across disciplines.
- America: History & Life with Full Text This link opens in a new windowCoverage of the U.S. and Canada from pre-historical times to the present in historical journals.
- Ethnic NewsWatch This link opens in a new windowFeatures selected full text of newspaper, magazine, and journal articles from the ethnic and minority press.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowProvides access to the full text of journals in many subject areas. There is no full text for the last 3-5 years.
Selected Databases Covering Specific Subjects
- Gale OneFile: Communications & Mass Media This link opens in a new window
Covers all aspects of communication and mass media. Includes some full-text articles. - GenderWatch This link opens in a new windowProvides authoritative historical and current perspectives on the evolution of gender roles.
- Gale OneFile: Health & Medicine This link opens in a new window
Extensive coverage of scholarly medical journals. - Historical Abstracts with Full TextCovers the history of the world, excluding the U.S. and Canada, from 1450 to the present in historical journals.
- LGBT Life with Full TextIncludes coverage of important magazines, journals, newspapers, and books in the field.
- Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson)Broad coverage of core social science journals.
Selected Databases Covering Newspapers
- Nexis Uni This link opens in a new windowCoverage of business and legal news in national and international sources.
- New York Times Digital This link opens in a new windowFull newspaper coverage from 1851 to the present day. Replaces the New York Times Archive.