Finding Journal Articles
Search for journal articles and more using these suggested databases. If you aren't finding what you need for your assignment, make an appointment with me or stop by the reference desk for further assistance. LBIS provides access to over 200 research databases.
The CONSORT and OhioLINK catalogs do not contain information about individual articles published in journals. However, if you have a citation to a journal article--the author's name, the title of the article, the title of the journal, and the date or volume/issue number--you can search by journal title to determine if the library has the journal in print, electronically, or in microfilm. If we don't have the journal at Kenyon, simply fill out an Interlibrary loan request form.
To search for articles on your topic, use an index or database. In many cases, you can get the full text of the article by following a link from the database. If you're searching in an index without links to full-text articles, you'll need to search by journal title in CONSORT as described in the above paragraph.
Search Tips:
- Come up with good keywords: Consider synonyms, alternate spellings, and other similar ways to find terms related to your topic.
- Look for subject headings: Most databases will include their own subject headings. When you find a relevant article, click on subject (heading), or refine your search to include both a subject (heading) and keywords, to find similar articles.
- Set reasonable limits: Be careful not to set too many limits, especially if you are just beginning your research. Extremely narrow search will rarely lead you to the "perfect article."
- Use bibliographies: If you do find the perfect article (or essay in a reference work, or a relevant book on your topic) check out the bibliography, and then search for some of these resources.
The following History-specific and general indexes are great places to begin searching for articles.
Getting Started
Reference sources can help you to begin your research and guide you in your approach to a new topic. Encyclopedias and biographical dictionaries can help you to learn more about a topic or a person, and to place them in wider historical and cultural contexts. Browse reference materials in the Reference section, on the second floor of Chalmers near Helpline. You can also search for online sources using the Advanced Search screen in CONSORT, by limiting the location to KEN Reference.
- Oxford Reference Online
Search across Oxford Reference Encyclopedias, or search by subject.
- Dictionary of American History
Ten-volume set. Articles include bibliographies. Older editions are located in the Main stacks under the same call number.
- Encyclopedia of American Historical Documents
- Europe 1450 to 1789 : encyclopedia of the early modern world
The first volume in this six-volume set includes a chronology of Europe. Maps and bibliographies are included, as well as some full-color illustrations.
- Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia
From the Jewish Women's Archive. The encyclopedia is extremely thorough and international in scope.
Look at the Jewish Women's Archive page as well for primary sources, historical timelines, and more. - The New Cambridge Modern History
This fourteen-volume work covers the period from 1493 through 1945. See the original Cambridge Modern History set [KEN Main D208 .C17 ] for extensive bibliographies that were not included in the new edition.
- New Dictionary of the History of Ideas
This encyclopedia clarifies the intellectual history of more than 750 complex ideas of concern to people today.
History and Humanities-Related Databases
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Academic Search CompleteThis resource contains more than 8,500 full-text periodicals, including 7,300 peer-reviewed journals. In addition, Academic Search Complete offers indexing and abstracts for more than 12,500 journals and a total of 13,200 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, etc. The database features PDF content going back as far as 1887, with the majority of full text titles in native (searchable) PDF format.
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America: History & LifeIncludes bibliographic citations and abstracts covering the historical literature of the United States and Canada from prehistoric times to the present. Sources include journals, books, dissertations, and book reviews from 1964 to present.
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Asia-StudiesThis index incorporates more than 20 journals specialized in the Asian Humanities and Social Sciences. Some articles are accessible for free, others you may request through Interlibrary Loan.
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Historical AbstractsIndexes 2,300 journals from 1955 to present. Indexes and abstracts scholarly literature on the history of the world, except the United States and Canada, from 1450 to the present.
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JSTOROver 1,800 full text journals. Index does not include the last six years worth of publications.
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OhioLINK Electronic Journal CenterIndex of articles published during the last six years from 9,100 journals.
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Social Sciences Citation IndexIndexes 1,700 journals, 1898-present.
