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Diamond Scholars

Databases

One way to find articles is to use research databases that index and describe articles.  The databases often provide the text of the article.  If a database does not have the full-text, you will see a link to "Find Full-text."  Click on that and it is very likely you will find the text of the article linked in another database.


Some things to consider when selecting a database:

1. Does the database include discipline-specific research? If you are looking for discipline-specific research, choose a discipline-specific database. For example, if you want to locate research by Sociologists, choose a database specific to Sociology, such as Sociological Abstracts. You can identify discipline-specific databases by using the Databases - By Subject tab on the library home pagge or the Research Guides.

2. What is the date-range or time depth of the database? This is especially important when looking for older material.

3. What formats are included in the database? Are you looking for books, journal articles, films, etc? Most of the databases index articles from journals. If you are looking for books, be sure to choose a database that includes books, such as  WorldCat and Google Scholar.. If you are looking for newspaper articles, be sure that the database you choose indexes newspapers.

4. Does the database include popular, or scholarly, publications? Very few of the databases include popular publications. Those that do include Academic Search Premier, any database containing newspapers, and, any database containing trade publications.

5. Does the database include primary sources, or secondary sources? Most of the databases index secondary sources. If you need primary sources, choose a database that indexes primary sources. The subject guide History Primaary Sources has good lists of these.

6. Does the database include articles from a wide-range of academic disciplines? If you are interested in finding articles on a topic, but not necessarily from any specific discipline, choose a general database. Good general databases include  Academic Search Complete, JSTOR, Project Muse, Google Scholar, and many more.


Find the Full-Text

Can't Locate Your Article Online?

  • Use the Available online icon link found in the Library Search or the Example of Find Full Text iconbutton available from most other databases to locate the entire article online.
  • If your article is not available in print or via another research database, request it via ILLiad (interlibrary loan).