MLA International Bibliography
The definitive database for finding scholarly articles on Arabic literature and related topics is the Modern Language Association International Bibliography (MLAIB) online. Topics indexed include literary theory and criticism, dramatic arts (film, radio, television, theatre), folklore, and the history of printing and publishing. Book reviews are not included.
The MLAIB has certain database-specific features:
- You can search indexes such as genre, literary technique, literature topic, primary subject author, and primary subject work.
- You can build your search using the database's thesaurus. This will allow you to focus your search using MLA's descriptors (controlled vocabulary).
- It is generally better to do your searches in English, even if you want results in Arabic. For example, a search for Subject Arabic literature AND Keyword women produced 306 results, of which 32 were in Arabic.
- Create a free account with EBSCO to save your research into folders, remember your searches, and be notified when new articles matching your search terms are added.
The Modern Language Association has created several tutorial videos to help you to research efficiently and effectively.
Journal Articles, etc.
Please note that the library does not own all the journals and other materials cited in these databases. Where full text is not linked to the citation, use the OU Link to check the catalog or request the material via interlibrary loan.
Click here to access a list of e-journals to which OU subscribes related to Arabic literature, history, politics, culture, etc.
- ABI InformCovers business and management topics and includes executive profiles, reports on market conditions, and in-depth case studies of global business trends. Full text available.
- Academic Search CompleteMultidisciplinary database covering social sciences, humanities, education, physical and life sciences, and ethnic studies.
- America: History and LifeDatabase covering the U.S. and Canada, prehistory to the present. NOTE: The library has licensed this database for 6 simultaneous users. Please close the tab or browser when finished searching.
- Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO) (1991- )Designed to be a comprehensive source for theory and research in international affairs. Includes working papers from university research institutes, occasional papers from NGOs, foundation-funded research projects, proceedings from conferences, books, journals, and policy briefs. Some full text.
- Congressional PublicationsU.S. government information, including reports and documents from Congress.
- Dissertation AbstractsIndexes doctoral dissertations completed at accredited institutions in the US, Canada, UK, and Ireland. Most are available full text; if that is not the case, request the dissertation through interlibrary loan. NOTE: In recent years many dissertations have been placed in university repositories instead of in Dissertation Abstracts, so search individual institutions as well.
- EthnologueProvides information on thousands of living languages.
- Gale LiteratureCross-searches several collections of essays on writers and their work.
- Google ScholarContains scholarly papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports from all broad areas of research.
- Historical AbstractsSearch for articles in scholarly journals. Covers 1450 to the present. The library has licensed this database for 6 simultaneous users. Please close the tab or browser when finished searching.
- Index IslamicusReferences to books, book reviews, and journal articles about Islam, the Middle East, and the Muslim world, all time periods.
- JSTORMostly full-text access to content from core journals. NOTE: while most JSTOR journals begin from the first issue of a given title, there is frequently an embargo on the most recent years. JSTOR should not be relied upon as a sole source for scholarly research.
- Project MuseLargely full-text collection of articles from core journals. Generally limited to most recent 5-7 years.
- SocINDEXSociology and other social and behavioral sciences. References to journal articles, books, and conference papers.
- Web of ScienceMultidisciplinary index covering topics in the sciences, social sciences and humanities.
- Worldwide Political Science AbstractsCovers international literature in political science and its complementary fields, including international relations, law, and public administration/policy.