Articles & Databases
Finding Articles
The library’s research databases enable you to find articles, electronic books, reports, images, and more.
The content of each database varies:
- Some materials are full-text and some are not.
- Some materials are scholarly and some are popular.
- Some databases cover almost every topic while others focus on a specific area.
Below, you will find a list of databases recommended for English.
Search the Library Catalog
Instantly Search Literature Databases
Keyword Searching
How do I …
- Narrow down my search?
- Know which part of my topic to search for?
- Choose the topical keywords that will be the most descriptive?
Think about the important concepts and subject area of your topic. Choose keywords that you can use to search the databases.
Example: In the topic “How will global warming affect developing countries?” the important concepts are global warming and developing countries.
To make sure your search is effective, think of synonyms or additional words to describe your topic:
- global warming
- greenhouse effect
- climate change
- developing countries
- developing nations
- underdeveloped countries
- third world
Most article databases, library catalogs, and search engines allow you to build searches by combining similar concepts with the word or. This will result in a broader search.
Example: "global warming" or "greenhouse effect" or "climate change"
This should find all articles containing any of these three terms.
English, Foreign Language, & Humanities Databases
Although not necessarily an exhaustive list, the following databases are relevant to the subject of English, Foreign Language, & Humanities:
Multidisciplinary Databases
- Academic Search Complete
- Why search here? This database contains peer-reviewed articles on almost every academic subject.
- What’s included? Content includes over 5,000 full-text journals and over 200 full-text magazines, as well as full-text monographs and conference proceedings. Additional content includes citations and abstracts for many more journals and other publications.
- Directory of Open Access Journals
- Why search here? This open-access database contains a wide array of peer-reviewed journals on almost every subject.
- What’s included? The DOAJ contains over 20,000 full-text, open-access journals.
- ScienceDirect Open Access
- Why search here? This collection of open-access journals covers almost every subject.
- What’s included? Included are over 1,300 peer-reviewed journals and books published by Elsevier.
- JSTOR
- Why search here? JSTOR is a large, full-text database covering a wide range of academic subjects, including biology, history, law, mathematics, medicine, philosophy, political science, psychology, social science, and social work.
- What’s included? JSTOR contains the full text of thousands of journals, and its collections are especially strong for older or historic journals.
- Project MUSE Open Access
- Why search here? Project MUSE maintains an open-access online repository for full-text eBooks and journals in the humanities.
- What’s included? The open-access resources on Project MUSE are eclectic, covering all branches of the humanities.
- Retraction Watch
- Why search here? Retraction Watch is a database of peer-reviewed articles that have been retracted because of plagiarism, fraud, or error. It also indexes articles about which “expressions of concern” have been made—that is, concerns that may eventually lead to retractions. This database can assist students in avoiding poor research.
- What’s included? The database contains thousands of entries. Each entry includes title, place of publication, author, reason for retraction, and other relevant information.
English Databases
- Gale Literature Resource Center
- Why search here? This is the most important database for the English program, and it is also useful for other fields in the humanities.
- What’s included? This database contains full-text author biographies, literary analyses, and reviews for a wide range of literature, conveniently sorted by resource type.
- MLA Directory of Periodicals
- Why search here? This directory indexes journals and book series on various subjects in the humanities. Entries include submission requirements, circulation information, and contact information. This database is especially useful to researchers looking for journals in which to publish.
- What’s included? Every journal and book series in the MLA International Bibliography is included.
- MLA International Bibliography
- Why search here? This database is a comprehensive index for publications in the study of language, literature, linguistics, rhetoric and composition, folklore, and film.
- What’s included? The database contains over three million records, including citations for journal articles, books, websites, and dissertations.
- Oxford English Dictionary Online
- Why search here? The Oxford English Dictionary is the most authoritative and exhaustive dictionary of the English language, past and present. With the OED, a student can track how the meaning of a word has changed over time. This is especially valuable for students of English.
- What’s included? The OED includes not only current definitions but historical definitions and usages accompanied by examples from a wide range of literature.
- Poetry & Short Story Reference Source
- Why search here? This database features full-text poems, short stories, and dramatic works, as well as biographies, critical essays, and eBooks.
- What’s included? The database contains 400,000 poems, over 50,000 short stories, over 4,000 dramatic works, and over 1,100 eBooks.
Humanities Databases
- Bibliography of Indigenous Peoples in North America
Bibliography of Native North Americans (BNNA) is a bibliographic database covering all aspects of native North American culture, history, and life.
- Humanities International Complete
- Why search here? This database contains full-text scholarly literature for all branches of the humanities including English, foreign languages, literature, rhetoric, religion, the fine arts, sociology, and history.
- What’s included? This database includes the full text of over 1,200 peer-reviewed journals as well as citations and abstracts for over 2,300 journals.
- OAIster
- Why search here? OAIster combines open-access materials from multiple library catalogs. Most resources discovered through OAIster are instantly accessible.
- What’s included? The items that can be found through OAIster are eclectic, ranging from journal articles to digitized archival materials.
- Religion & Philosophy Collection
- Why search here? This collection focuses on religion, biblical studies, philosophy, and the histories of religion and philosophy.
- What’s included? The database includes over 100 full-text, peer-reviewed journals.
News & Current Events
- MasterFILE Complete
- Why search here? This collection contains a wide selection of popular magazines, reference books, and primary-source documents on many subjects. It is especially useful for researching business and current events.
- What’s included? The collection includes over 2,300 magazines, 1,100 eBooks, 55,000 primary-source documents, and 75,000 Associated Press videos, as well as an image collection.
- Newspaper Source Plus
- Why search here? This database curates content from a wide array of newspapers and radio and television news programs. Newspaper Source Plus focuses on recent and current news rather than on historical newspapers.
- What’s included? The database contains over 1,100 full-text newspapers and over 100 full-text newswires.
- Newswires
- Why search here? This database aggregates syndicated news from the previous thirty days. This database supplements Newspaper Source Plus and Regional Business News Plus.
- What’s included? Newswires of the last thirty days are included. Most are from the Associated Press.
- Regional Business News Plus
- Why search here? This database contains full-text newspapers and regional business publications.
- What’s included? Contents include over 1,300 full-text newspapers, 72 regional business publications, and more than two million television and radio news transcripts.
- TOPICsearch
- Why search here? This database is focused on current events. It will be most useful for classes or writing assignments focused on contemporary issues or news items.
- What’s included? The database contains over 98,000 full-text articles from newspapers, magazines, biographies, book reviews, government publications, and opinion polls.
eBooks & Reference Works
- Directory of Open Access Books
- Why search here? The Directory of Open Access Books contains freely available, peer-reviewed academic eBooks on a variety of subjects.
- What’s included? The Directory’s content is eclectic and covers a wide range of academic subjects.
- eBook Academic Collection
- Why search here? This database contains most of the library’s academic eBooks. It is also searchable through our catalog system.
- What’s included? This collection contains over 240,000 eBooks covering a wide range of academic subjects.
- eBook Collection
- Why search here? This is EBSCO’s eBook portal, which has its own unique interface. This collection is also searchable through our catalog system.
- What’s included? All of the eBooks we receive from EBSCO are included here.
- MAS Reference eBook Collection
- Why search here? This reference book collection supplements MAS Complete. Although intended for high school students, its contents may be useful in undergraduate classes.
- What’s included? Over 370 reference books on a wide variety of subjects are included.
- MasterFILE Reference eBook Collection
- Why search here? This reference collection supplements MasterFILE Complete. Although intended for public libraries, its contents may be useful in undergraduate classes.
- What’s included? Almost 780 reference books on a wide variety of subjects are included.
Theses & Dissertations
- EBSCO Open Dissertations
- Why search here? This open-access database can direct you to the full text of theses and doctoral dissertations on almost any subject.
- What’s included? This collection contains over one and a half million dissertations from 320 universities worldwide.
- Open Access Theses and Dissertations
- Why search here? This database links to full-text graduate theses and doctoral dissertations on every academic subject.
- What’s included? The database includes over seven million theses and dissertations from over 1,100 institutions.