Search Databases for Articles
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.
Multi-Disciplinary Databases
- Academic Search PremierThis multidisciplinary database indexes several types of publications (scholarly journals, popular magazines, newspapers, and more) covering social sciences, humanities, education, and more.
- Web of Science
Multidisciplinary database covering sciences, social science, and humanities. - Annual ReviewsIncludes Economics, Environment and Resources, Resource Economics and more. 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." (from database overview).
- 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.
- JSTORFull text and complete archives of core scholarly journals in most disciplines. Some journals date from the 1600s. Current issues may not be available.
Human Geography Databases
The following list is not comprehensive. Be sure to visit other subject guides for more database options.
- Anthropology PlusProvides access to Anthropological Literature and Anthropological Index. Covers the fields of anthropology, archaeology, art history, demography, economics, psychology, and religious studies. Materials indexed include journal articles, book series, reports, commentaries, obituaries, and the complete contents of Anthropological Literature: An Index to Periodical Articles and Essays.
- 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.
- World Bank DataThis database provides access to over 2,000 World Development Indicators (WDI) from the World Bank data sets covering over 200 countries.
Search OU Libraries Catalog for Books and Journals
Get more information
- OU Carceral Studies Consortium NewsletterThe Carceral Studies Consortium strives to build a community for intellectual exploration that includes faculty, staff, graduate students, community members, practitioners, and organizers. Carceral Studies is concerned with the independent function and nexus of the political and social systems that organize, shape, sustain, and entrench practices of punishment, surveillance, incarceration, and harm.
- OU Carceral Studies Consortium PodcastThis podcast series seeks to understand and illuminate the Carceral State and its manifestations. This project allows us to deconstruct these complex systems and build a more just society. The series offers multiple perspectives into the Carceral State and its impact.