Why Use A Database?
Search a database to find journal, magazine, or newspaper articles. Some databases also provide access to other materials such as dissertations, book chapters, books, datasets, sound recordings, videos, etc.
- Some databases have the full text of articles. If not, follow these instructions to figure out if the library has the journal, or call the Research Help Desk at 405-325-4142 for assistance.
- What if the library does not have a journal article that you need? We can still get it for you via our interlibrary loan service. It's free! And articles often come electronically within a few days. For more information see the interlibrary loan page.
What is the Difference Between a Popular and a Scholarly Source?
If you are not familiar with scholarly publications, it can be difficult to tell the difference between scholarly and popular periodicals. There are no definitive rules for distinguishing between the two, but here are some guidelines:
Scholarly (e.g., academic journals):
- Are written by professionals within an academic field or discipline.
- Contain research projects, methodology, and theory.
- Have few, if any, advertisements.
- Use college-level or specialized vocabulary of the discipline.
- Include articles with extensive bibliographies, footnotes, or other documentation.
- Graphics are often tables, charts, and diagrams.
- Are peer-reviewed or refereed.
- A simple explanation of peer review: other scholars in the field have evaluated a work. Check a journal's website to see what it says about the peer review or referee process. See this page, for example.
- NOTE: Even though many databases allow you to limit by peer review, it's not a guarantee that every article so limited will actually be a peer reviewed research article. Peer reviewed journals also contain non peer reviewed content such as book reviews and editorials.
Popular (e.g., magazines, newspapers):
- Are written by journalists.
- Contain general news articles written to inform, update, or introduce a new issue.
- Have many full-color, full-page advertisements.
- Use a general, non-technical vocabulary.
- Include articles with little or no documentation.
- Graphics are often full-color pictures and illustrations.
Multidisciplinary Databases
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Academic Search CompleteReferences (and some full text) to magazine articles, major newspaper articles, journal articles, and book reviews.
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Dissertation Abstracts (aka ProQuest Dissertations & Theses)References to U.S. doctoral dissertations completed at accredited institutions since 1861 (abstracts since 1980) and dissertations and theses, most with abstracts, from the U.K. and Ireland since 1716. Many dissertations 1997 to 2010s, are full text.
Please Note: Many universities have started archiving dissertations locally rather than through this database. Try a Google search on the topic or author to see if you can locate the dissertation.
Find most OU dissertations full text through summer 2013; after that date, find OU dissertations in SHAREOK. -
Google ScholarGoogle Scholar enables you to search specifically for scholarly literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports from all broad areas of research. Use Google Scholar to find articles from a wide variety of academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories and universities, as well as scholarly articles available across the web. When off campus, be sure to access Google Scholar settings > library links > type in University of Oklahoma.
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JSTORFull text and complete archives of core scholarly journals in most disciplines. Some journals date from the 1600s. Current issues may not be available.
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Project MuseFull text of scholarly journals in the humanities, arts, and social sciences.
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Web of ScienceMultidisciplinary database. Includes a "cited reference" search. (A type of search that allows you to find articles that cite a previously published work.)
Subject Specific Databases
These databases have proven useful to IAS students in the past. See also the other subject guides.
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ABI/INFORM Complete (now called ProQuest One Business)Focus is on business and management topics, but includes many other subjects as well. Full text and references to journal and magazine articles.
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Anthropology PlusFull text journal articles for anthropology, demography, art history, folklore, museum studies, psychology, and religious studies.
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Art IndexIncludes materials on traditional art, art history, archaeology, architecture, fashion design, interior design, visual art, and non-western art. Materials indexed include journal articles, yearbooks, and museum bulletins. Includes multi-lingual material.
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ATLA Religion DatabaseBiblical studies, world religions, church history, etc. References and some full text to journal articles, essays, book reviews.
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Communication SourceFull-text, scholarly articles for communication, linguistics, rhetoric and discourse, speech-language pathology and media studies.
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Contemporary Women's IssuesIndexes a variety of materials from journal articles to fact sheets that focus on contemporary and international women's issues in areas such as education, health, legal status, reproductive rights, and feminism. Some full text.
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EconLitIndexes literature focusing on economics and economists' views on social issues. Materials indexed include books, chapters, working papers and dissertations, and abstracts to journal articles.
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Film and Television Literature IndexBibliographic database covering the subjects of film and television theory, preservation and restoration, writing, production, cinematography, technical aspects, and reviews. This database indexes periodicals and technical publications. Some full text available.
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GeoBASE (via Engineering Village)Covers geography, geology, ecology, international development, and related disciplines. Materials indexed include journals, books, conference proceedings, and reports.
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GreenFILEDatabase to search for scholarly and general interest titles, as well as government documents and reports, related to the the positive and negative ways humans affect the environment.
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Historical Abstracts (1955- )World history (except the U.S. and Canada), 1450 to the present. References to journal articles, books, book reviews, dissertations.
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International Medieval Bibliography (1967- )Medieval Studies (300-1500) in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. References to journal articles, festschriften, conference proceedings, collected essays, exhibition catalogs.
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MEDLINE (1950 - present)Index and abstracts to journals published internationally, covering medicine, dentistry, nursing, and other health fields.
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MLA International BibliographyCovers topics in literature, language, linguistics, and folklore. Materials indexed include journals, books, working papers, and conference proceedings.
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Music IndexInternational index covering international music periodicals with a broad range of subject matter. Materials indexed include historiographic, ethnographic, and musicological data, reviews, tapes and performances.
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PsycINFOPsycINFO is the comprehensive index for Psychology and related subjects.
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SocINDEXSociology and other social and behavioral sciences. References to journal articles, books, and conference papers.
Essential Databases: International Affairs and Political Science
These are the major databases for finding articles and other materials related to International Affairs and Political Science.
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Annual Reviews (Annual Review of Political Science) (1998- )This database "critically reviews the most significant primary research literature to guide researchers to the principal contributions of their field and help them keep up to date in their area of research." Includes political theory and philosophy, international relations, political economy, political behavior, American and comparative politics, public administration and policy, and methodology.
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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.
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PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service) International (with Archive, 1914- )Public and social policy issues, foreign and domestic. References to journal articles, government documents, books, pamphlets, yearbooks, directories.
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Worldwide Political Science AbstractsCovers international literature in political science and its complementary fields, including international relations, law, and public administration/policy.
Area Studies
These are the major databases for finding articles and other materials related to Area Studies.
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American Bibliography of Slavic and East European Studies (ABEES) (1989- )Multi-disciplinary coverage of East-Central Europe and the former Soviet Union. References to journal articles, books, book chapters, book reviews, dissertations, online resources, and selected government publications published in the United States and Canada.
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ARTFLFull text of classic works of French literature, non-fiction prose, and technical writing from the 12th through the 20th century.
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Bibliography of Asian Studies (BAS) (1971- )Multidisciplinary coverage of East, Southeast, and South Asia. References to western-language journal articles, books (to 1991), book chapters, conference proceedings.
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China Academic Journals (2000- )Full text of Chinese language journals in the areas of economics, politics, law, education, social sciences, literature, history, and philosophy.
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ClasePeriodica (1975- )Multidisciplinary coverage of Latin America. References to journal articles, books, book reviews, essays, conference proceedings, and technical reports in Spanish, Portuguese, French, and English.
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Handbook of Latin American Studies (1970- )Multidisciplinary coverage of Latin America. References to journal articles, books, book chapters, and conference papers in Spanish and English. OU Link to Article does not work in this database. You must search Discover Local (the catalog) for the title of the journal to see if we own it.
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HAPI, the Hispanic American Periodicals Index (1970- )Multidisciplinary coverage of Latin America and Hispanics in the U.S. References to journal articles, book reviews (through 2001), documents, original literary works in Spanish, Portuguese, and English.
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Index IslamicusIslam, the Middle East and the Muslim world, all time periods. References to books, book reviews, and journal articles.
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IntegrumIn Russian. Provides access to a large collection of Russian and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) databases covering a wide range of topics. Includes archives of mass media, such as newspapers, magazines, radio, and television, and reference information. Full text available.
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JapanKnowledge Lib (Japan narejji Lib)Provides fully searchable and browsable English-Japanese and Japanese-English dictionaries, the Encyclopedia Nipponica and Encyclopedia of Japan, articles published in the weekly magazine Ekonomisuto, the Toyo Bunko, and other resources.
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Koseisha Zasshi Kijisakuin ShuseiReferences (in Japanese) to journal articles. Covers Meiji period to the present.
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RAMBI: Index of Articles on Jewish StudiesSelective bibliography of academic articles and books covering all fields of Jewish studies as well as the study of Eretz Israel and the State of Israel. OU Link to Article does not work in this database. You must search Discover Local (the catalog) for the title of the journal to see if we own it.
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South Asia Open ArchivesGrowing open access collection of historical and contemporary primary sources in the arts, humanities and social sciences from and about South Asia; built through a collaborative initiative involving US research libraries and partners from South Asia.
Video and Images
These databases cover still images and video.
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American Archive of Public BroadcastingAn initiative to digitally preserve and make accessible public broadcasting radio and television programming,
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American History in VideoIncludes newsreels, documentaries, and archival footage.
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ARTstorImages from a wide variety of civilizations, time-periods, and media. From different sources, such as museums, archaeological teams, photo archives, slide collections, and art reference publishers. Includes political cartoons.
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Avon: Academic Video OnlineStreaming academic video content, including acclaimed and award-winning interdisciplinary documentaries, independent non-fiction films, training and instructional videos, foreign films and shorts, and other educational titles. Note: Effective January 1, 2021, AVON video access is mediated. This means that any video not licensed for use prior to that date will require the user to request access. Access is being enabled for class use with instructor approval.
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British Pathé Archives85,000 historic films from 1896 to 1976, includes footage from Britain and around the globe. The archive is particularly strong in its coverage of the First and Second World Wars.
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Kanopy Streaming VideoProvides access to streaming video supporting classes in the arts, business, health, media/communication, science, humanities and education. Effective October 1, 2018, Kanopy video access is mediated. This means that any video not licensed for use prior to that date will require the user to request access. Access is being enabled for class use with instructor approval.
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New World Cinema: Independent Features and ShortsStreaming full-length feature films from leading independent distributors and award-winning short films.
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Swank Digital CampusSwank's streaming platform offers access to over 25,000 feature films, documentaries, foreign films, and TV shows from the largest movie studios, including Walt Disney, Warner Bros., Paramount, Columbia Pictures, Lions Gate, MGM, and others. Note: Swank Digital Campus access is mediated. This means that any video not currently licensed for use will require the user to request access. Access is being enabled for class use with instructor approval.