Article databases contain popular sources (news and magazines) and scholarly sources (peer-reviewed).
Scholarly sources cover original research and practice in a particular field or discipline. These articles are written by experts in the field and undergo a rigorous review before they are published. When searching databases, limit your search by clicking the Peer Reviewed checkbox.
Popular sources like magazine and newspaper articles are written for the general public. Their may or may not be reviewed before being published. However, quality popular sources may still be appropriate depending on your topic. See the Evaluating Sources tab to evaluate these types of articles.
Joshua Vossler's video "Selecting and Using Keywords"
Keywords and Database Searching
Databases are searchable, indexed collections of published information.
Benefits of using library databases:
If your research assignment requires you to write about a current social or controversial issue, the following database is a good place to start. Use their Browse Issues tool if you need help choosing a topic to research.
For more general information, the following databases offer full-text articles covering a wide range of topics.
If your research assignment requires you to write about literary criticism or literary themes, the following databases are a good place to start.
LitFinder is international in scope, covers all time periods, and contains literature content, including poems, short stories, novels, essays, speeches, plays, biographies, summaries, photographs, and more. Full-text is available in many cases. LitFinder provides access to a wealth of literary works and secondary-source materials covering world literature and authors throughout history, including full-text poems and poetry citations, short stories, inaugural presidential speeches, and plays. LitFinder also contains biographies, work summaries, photographs, and a glossary. Researchers can quickly search for a particular author or identify authors linked by qualities such as gender, nationality, century, and genre using person search. Works search functions similarly, giving users the ability to browse works by thousands of subjects, themes, genres, and literary movements.