What's On This Page?
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 to scholarly articles, 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
- Academic Search Complete (Ebsco)Multidisciplinary database. References to or full text of journal and magazine articles, major newspaper articles, book reviews, and more.
- 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. - JSTORIncludes the full text and complete archives of core scholarly journals in many disciplines, some dating from the 1600s. Current issues may not be available.
- Project MuseFull text of scholarly journals in the humanities, arts, and social sciences.
- ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global (was Dissertation Abstracts)Millions of searchable citations to dissertations and theses from 1861 to the present day together with over a million full-text dissertations that are available for download in PDF format. Includes UK & Ireland content.
NOTE: Many universities have started archiving dissertations locally rather than through this database. Try a search in Worldcat, note the name of the institution where the dissertation was written, and go to that institution's catalog to see if a copy is in a local repository.
Most OU dissertations are full text through summer 2013; after that date, find OU dissertations in SHAREOK. - Web of Science (Clarivate)Multidisciplinary database. Includes a "cited reference" search. (A type of search that allows you to find articles that cite a previously published work.)
Women's and Gender Studies
- Contemporary Women's Issues (Gale)Contemporary and international women's issues in areas such as education, health, legal status, reproductive rights, and feminism. References or links to the full text of a variety of materials from journal articles to fact sheets.
Subject Specific Databases
- ProQuest One Business (formerly ABI/INFORM)Focus is on business and management topics, but includes many other subjects as well. References to or full text of journal, magazine, and newspaper articles, books, videos, company reports, and more.
- America: History and Life (Ebsco)Covers the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistoric times to the present, including topics in the social sciences and humanities. Materials indexed include journals articles, book reviews, media reviews, and dissertations.
- Anthropology Plus (Ebsco)Anthropology, archaeology, and related fields. References to or full text of journal articles, books, and more.
- Art Index (Ebsco)Traditional art, art history, archaeology, architecture, fashion design, interior design, visual art, folk art, film, and non-western art. References to or full text of journal articles, yearbooks, and museum bulletins.
- ATLA Religion Database (Ebsco)Biblical studies, world religions, church history, etc. References to or full text of journal articles, essays, book reviews.
- Black Studies Center (1900-present; Proquest)Scholarly journals, commissioned essays by scholars in Black Studies, historic indexes, and the Chicago Defender newspaper, 1910-1975.
- Communication Source (Ebsco)Communication, linguistics, rhetoric and discourse, speech-language pathology, media studies. References to or full text of journal and magazine articles, books, and book reviews.
- EconLit (Proquest)Covers both economic theory and application. References to or full text of journal articles, books, working papers, dissertations, and more.
- ERIC (Education; Ebsco)Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. References to or full text of journal articles and research reports (ERIC Documents).
- Film and Television Literature Index (Ebsco)Coverage includes film and television theory, preservation and restoration, writing, production, cinematography, and more. References to or full text of journal and magazine articles, trade publications, books, and reviews. See this page for information on finding film reviews.
- GreenFILE (Ebsco)All aspects of human impact to the environment. References to or full text of journal and magazine articles, books, book reviews, and reports.
- Historical Abstracts (Ebsco)World history (except the U.S. and Canada), 1450 to the present. References to or full text of journal articles, books, book reviews, dissertations, etc.
- MEDLINE (Ebsco)Medicine, dentistry, nursing, and other health fields. Created by the National Library of Medicine. References to or full text of journal articles and some magazine articles.
- MLA International Bibliography (Ebsco)Literature, language, linguistics, and folklore. References to or full text of journal articles, books, book chapters, and dissertations.
- Music Index (Ebsco)Music, musicians, and the music industry for both the classical and popular worlds of music. References to or full text of journal and magazine articles, book reviews, trade publications, and books.
- PAIS Index (Proquest)Public and social policy issues, foreign and domestic. References to or full text of journal articles, government documents, books, pamphlets, yearbooks, statistical directories, grey literature, and more.
- PsycINFO (Proquest)Psychology and related disciplines in the behavioral sciences. References to or full text of journal articles, books, dissertations, and more.
- Social Work Abstracts (Ebsco)All areas of the profession, including theory and practice, areas of service, social issues, and social problems. References to or full text of journal articles, books, dissertations, and more.
- SocINDEX (Ebsco)Sociology and other social and behavioral sciences. References to or full text of journal and magazine articles, reviews, trade publications, dissertation, books, and conference papers.
- SportDiscus with Full Text (Ebsco)All aspects of sports, fitness, recreation, and related fields. References to or full text of journal and magazine articles, books, dissertations, reports, audiovisual materials, and websites related to all aspects of sports and fitness.