University of ConnecticutUniversity Libraries
Instruction

   Finding Articles : Use Databases


What kind of research is found in databases?
Scholarly communication ~ disseminates research and academic discussion among professionals within disciplines through scholarly and peer-reviewed journals and books/book chapters. Journals such as Shakespeare Quarterly and Crime, media, culture are examples of scholarly sources. Popular communication ~ informs and entertains the general public through articles in magazines and newspapers. Magazines like Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, and Psychology Today are examples of popular sources.
Articles from Scholarly and Popular Journals
Multidisciplinary Databases
  • Academic Search Premier
    Great starting point -- easy to use.
    Over 8,000 magazines and journals are included in all disciplines.
  • Academic OneFile
    Good starting point -- many subjects. Limit search to "refereed publications" for scholarly articles.
  • JSTOR
    Academic complement of scholarly journals from the 19th and 20th centuries in many disciplines. All articles are full text.
  • Project Muse
    Project MUSE® covers the fields of literature and criticism, history, the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, education, political science, gender studies, economics, and many others.
Discipline Specific Databases
  • MLA (Literature and linguistics)
    Literature, language and linguistics, folklore, literary theory & criticism, and dramatic arts, as well as rhetoric and composition and the history, theory and practice of teaching language and literature.
  • America: History and Life
    America: History and Life is a complete bibliographic reference to the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present.
  • Sociological Abstracts
    Abstracts and full text of journal articles, books, and book chapters in sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences.
  • ABI/INFORM Global (business)
    Business and management, accounting and auditing economics, finance and financial management, marketing, advertising and sales, etc.
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- Current Events - Newspapers and Magazines
  • LexisNexis Academic
    National and international newspapers, popular and general-interest magazines, economics and trade journals, company financial reports, legal cases and law journals, and more.
  • iConn Newsstand
    iConn Newstand: provides full-text access to the following newspapers: Christian Science Monitor (1988 - ), Hartford Courant (1992 - ), Los Angeles Times (1988 - ), New York Times (1999 - ), Wall Street Journal (1984 - ), Washington Post (1987 - )
  • Issues & Controversies
    In-depth information on current topics, combining objective analysis and clear explanations of opposing viewpoints. Chronologies, illustrations, maps, tables, sidebars, bibliographies and contact information.
  • New York Times Historical
    A full-image archive of the entire historical run of The New York Times; complete coverage from 1851-2000. Contains: display and classified ads, comics and cartoons, photos, maps, graphics, etc., editorials and commentary, literary criticism, and in-depth coverage of science and politics.
  • CQ Researcher
    Covers the most current and controversial issues of the day with complete summaries, insight into all sides of the issues, bibliographies and more.
  • Factiva (formerly Dow Jones Interactive)
    Company, industry, and market data, stock price history reports, company financial reports and company-to-industry and company-to-company comparison reports, and full text access to hundreds of newspapers, general interest magazines and academic journals.
The UConn Libraries bring you over 200 more databases in specific disciplines. See All databases.

Journals, magazines, and newspapers are generally referred to as PERIODICALS (or serials) because they are issued at regular periods (every day, every week, once a month, and so on).

Types of periodicals: which kind do you need?

  • Scholarly journals (may be referred to as peer-reviewed, refereed, academic, or research) report on original research. Scholarly articles are written by experts in their subject who carefully cite related research. The language used is that of the discipline, used by other researchers at college level and above. Scholarly periodicals include such titles as the American Economic Review; Shakespeare Quarterly; and The New England Journal of Medicine
  • Popular magazines or newspapers cover news stories, current events, entertainment, and pastimes, and include such titles as Ebony, Ms, and Newsweek. The main purpose of popular periodicals is to provide general information for the average reader.
  • Trade publications (magazines, newspapers, etc.) discuss practical matters relating to a particular trade or industry and include such titles as Chemical Week, Security Dealer, and Restaurant Business.

Journals in the University of Connecticut Libraries are shelved alphabetically by TITLE of the journal/magazine using every word in the title. Omit "The", "A", or "An" if it is the first word in the title. Prepositions within the title are used when locating the journal.

Need more help? Try connect to Research 101 lesson on finding articles Information Cycles: The Sources

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Last Updated: Tuesday, 18-Aug-2009 13:47:37 EDT