Scholarly article databases
Scholarly article databases collect and index literature published in academic periodicals.
Database diversity
Some databases are interdisiciplinary and collect literature from periodicals across a range of the social sciences, the humanities, or both. Interdisciplinary databases offer greater sensitivity but less precision (i.e., you will be casting a wide net and catching more fish, though you may be after only largemouth bass. Few fish will escape your net, but it may take significant time to sift through your haul to find the bass).
Other databases assume narrower scopes; these databases are subject-specific and collect literature from only one or two disciplines or an isolated area of interdisciplinary interest. Subject-specific databases offer less sensitivity but greater precision (i.e., your net will be smaller and you will catch less fish, but of those that you do catch, a large proportion will be largemouth bass. However, it is likely that this narrower net allows some largemouth bass to escape).
Periodical diversity
There is variation not only among article databases, but among the periodicals from which they draw their content.
These periodicals may be published annually, biannually, quarterly, etc. -- journal names often indicate publication frequency (e.g., The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Annual Review of Political Science, Philosophical Quarterly, etc.).
The periodicals may publish literature across a wide range of topics in a single field (generalist journals) or they may be focused on a subfield or a couple subfields within a discipline (specialist or subfield journals). Still other journals assume an interdisciplinary focus (interdisciplinary journals) and invite submissions from scholars who work in various fields.
See below for a selection of interdisciplinary and subject-specific article databases.
Interdisciplinary databases
- Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
Search for journal articles on most topics. This multi-disciplinary database is a good place to start if you don't know where else to begin. (EBSCO)
- ProQuest (All Databases) This link opens in a new windowSelect a subset of ProQuest databases to cross-search them at once. (ProQuest)
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowSearch for journal articles on topics in the arts, humanities, social sciences and some math/science. Most journals have volumes/issues dating from the 19th century to within 3-5 years of present day. (ITHAKA)
- Project Muse This link opens in a new windowSearch for journal articles on topics related to the arts, humanities, and social sciences. (Project MUSE)
- OneSearch This link opens in a new windowUse this discovery tool to search most of the University Libraries' collections, including books, journal articles, newspapers, dissertations, music, and video recordings. (Ex Libris)
Subject-specific databases
- Anthropology Plus This link opens in a new window
Search for journal articles published on topics within anthropology. This database combines results from the Royal Anthropological Institute’s Anthropological Index and Harvard University's Anthropological Literature. Note: Only 5 users may access this database at one time. (EBSCO)
- AnthroSource This link opens in a new windowSearch for articles published in the 30+ journals from the American Anthropological Association. (Wiley)
- SocINDEX with Full Text This link opens in a new windowSearch for articles from journals specializing in sociology and related topics, including abortion, criminal justice, demography, ethnic and racial studies, gender studies, marriage and family, political sociology, religion, rural and urban sociology, social development, social psychology, social structure, social work, socio-cultural anthropology, substance abuse and other addictions, violence, and more. (EBSCO)
- Social Science Research Network (SSRN) This link opens in a new window
Use the database in two ways: 1) Search the open access database for working papers that are posted here before being published in an official journal. 2) Request an account to specific networks by emailing Carrie Ludovico. These networks provide access to articles from subscription journals on specific topics. UR has access to the Accounting Research Network, Corporate Governance Research Network, Economics Research Network, Entrepreneurship Research and Policy Network, Financial Economics Network, Information Systems & eBusiness Network, Innovation Research Network, Management Research Network, and Social Insurance Research Network. (Elsevier)
