Database Basics
Databases are searching tools designed to help researchers FIND information, whereas OU Libraries is responsible for ACCESS to articles. We subscribe to both databases (paying for the indexing that the databases do) and to journals (to pay for full text access). Every database is different; if you don't see a full text in the database, look for OU Link to Article or take the article name or journal name back to the Libraries' catalog to search manually.
OU Link to Article will connect you to other full-text options or provide a link to Interlibrary Loan to obtain the article if we don't subscribe to it. Need help using our full text options? Try our full text tutorial to learn about the options for access or see our Interlibrary Loan video or handout.
The Lean Library browser extension can make accessing full text easier and will even direct you to Interlibrary Loan where needed.
Some databases cover only scholarly (peer-reviewed) journals, whereas others cover all types of materials.
General Science
- Web of Science
Multidisciplinary database covering sciences, social science, and humanities. - Natural Science Collection
Searches multiple databases in the following science areas: Agricultural, aquatic, atmospheric, biological, earth and environmental. - JSTOR
Provides access to journals in African-American Studies, Anthropology, Asian Studies, Ecology, Economics, Education, Finance, General Science, History, Literature, Mathematics, Philosophy, Political Science, Population Studies, Sociology, Statistics. It is a digitized archive of the backfiles of selected scholarly journals. Full text available. - Google ScholarGoogle Scholar enables you to search for literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts, and technical reports from all broad areas of research. However, it indexes these items automatically and you should take care to verify the scholarly nature of items you find. Additionally, sometimes the OU Article Linker does not work correctly from Google Scholar results; in those cases take the title, journal, or authors and search in a database from the Libraries website.
- FirstSearch CollectionA list of databases available from FirstSearch on various subjects, including AnthropologyPlus, ArticleFirst, ClasePeriodica, Ebooks, ECO (Electronic Collections Online), ERIC, GEOBASE, GPO, History of Science, Technology and Medicine, Medline, OAIster, PapersFirst, Proceedings, World Almanac, WorldCat, and WorldCat Dissertations.
- Engineering Village
Engineering database - searches Compendex, Inspec, and GEOBASE. Click "Check Access" then click on "sign in" via your institution. Type in "University of Oklahoma" (your email will not work) then select University of Oklahoma. This will prompt you to log in with your 4x4. Then click "continue without signing in". It's complicated but it's worth it! - Dissertation AbstractsU.S. doctoral dissertations since 1861. Includes some international dissertations and US theses. Find most OU dissertations full text through summer 2013; after that date, find OU dissertations in SHAREOK. Most dissertations from other institutions, 1997 to present, are full text. To obtain pre-1997 dissertations, use the interlibrary loan request form.
Interlibrary Loan
Interlibrary Loan
This page discusses articles that are not available online, but the libraries have physical copies as well as articles that must be requested through interlibrary loan because the libraries does not subscribe to the journal.
How will I know if OU Libraries does not own the article?
Articles that are not available in the database you are searching or in another OU Libraries' database will be indicated with a Check for Full Text Link. After you open the Check for Full Text Link, look to see if OU Libraries has a physical copy of the article in a journal that you will be able to check out at the Circulation Desk. If there are no physical copies of the article, then you'll be able to request a copy from interlibrary loan.
Biomedical Sciences
- PubMedU.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) database of biomedical and life sciences journal literature.
- MedlineIndex and abstracts to journals published internationally, covering medicine, dentistry, nursing, and other health fields. This link goes to the Ebscohost interface; searches via Ovid and FirstSearch are also available via libraries.ou.edu/eresources.
- PsycTESTSProvides access to psychological tests, measures, scales, surveys and other assessments as well as descriptive information about the test, its development and administration.
- SciFinder-n
1907 - present (with some 19th century material).
Focused on chemistry, but chemistry is defined broadly, so can be useful for biology, physics, engineering, astronomy, etc. Users must register.
Social Sciences
- SocINDEXIndexes literature in sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. Provides abstracts and citations to journal articles, books, and conference papers. Includes author profiles.
- PsycINFOCovers psychology and related disciplines in the behavioral sciences. Materials indexed include abstracts to journals, book chapters, books, and dissertations.
- Social Work AbstractsIndexes and abstracts journals in all areas of the profession, including theory and practice, areas of service, social issues, and social problems.
Web of Science Help
This video demos basis Web of Science usage. However, we do not have access to their Kopernio plugin to access pdfs. Please use the "OU Article Linker" instead.