Overview
Use article databases to find journals articles (as well as dissertations, book chapters, and other resources) on a specific topic. In some cases, you will be able to link directly from the article database to the full text of the article. In other cases, you will need to search the title of the journal (not the author or title of the article) in the online catalog, to find out where it is located.
By "article databases" we mean both bibliographic databases (databases that contain records or citations to journal articles) and online full-text journal archives. Many bibliographic databases include some full text.
There are many article databases you can use to find scholarly articles on historical topics. These can yield secondary or primary sources, depending on how you have formulated your research topic. You may need to search several databases and indexes to find a range of articles on your topic. A comprehensive search may include both print and online indexes.
Bibliographic Databases
The main article databases for historians are:
- Historical Abstracts with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Covers the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present, including world history, military history, women's history, history of education, and more. Provides indexing of more than 1,700 academic historical journals in over 40 languages back to 1955. Alternate version: Historical Abstracts with Full Text in the classic EBSCO user interface (best for exporting more than 50 results or combining saved searches).
- America: History & Life with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Index of literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to the present. The database indexes journals from 1964 to present and includes citations and links to book and media reviews. Alternate version: America: History & Life with Full Text in the classic EBSCO user interface (best for exporting more than 50 results or combining saved searches).
- L'Année philologique This link opens in a new windowOnline searchable database comprised of the print index begun in 1928 by Jules Marouzeau. Vols. 20- of the original print index are currently, with earler vols. to be digitized in the future. Indexes periodical articles as well as articles in collections and conference papers in classics and classical studies. Covers Greek and Latin linguistics and literature and Greek and Roman archaeology, history, mythology, religion, epigraphy, numismatics and palaeography: all aspects of the ancient Mediterranean world.
- Brepolis Medieval and Early Modern Bibliographies This link opens in a new windowThe Brepolis Medieval and Early Modern Bibliographies are multidisciplinary bibliographies of Europe, North Africa and the Near East (300-1500), founded in 1967 with the aim of providing a comprehensive, current bibliography of articles in journals and miscellany volumes (conference proceedings, essay collections or Festschriften) worldwide. The bibliographies comprise 365,000 articles, all of which are fully classified by date, subject and location, and provide full bibliographical records.
- Iter: Gateway to the Middle Ages and Renaissance This link opens in a new window
Alternate version: Iter in the classic EBSCO user interface (best for exporting more than 50 results or combining saved searches). Contains electronic resources for researchers in the study and teaching of the Middle Ages and Renaissance (400-1700). Enables users to access citations in journal, book, and reviews databases; provides online access to Paul Oskar Kristeller's Iter Italicum (a finding list of Renaissance humanistic manuscripts); provides access to the International Directory of Scholars (a comprehensive directory of contact information, and information on the research and teaching careers of scholars around the world). Subscription includes a membership to the Renaissance Society of America.
The main article database for religious studies scholars is:
- ATLA Religion Database with ATLA Serials This link opens in a new window
The ATLA Religion Database is a comprehensive database designed to support religious and theological scholarship in graduate education and faculty research. The file contains citations from international titles and 13,000 multi-author works in and related to the field of religion. It also includes a full range of index citations to journal articles, essays in multi-author works, book reviews, and Doctor of Ministry projects from ATLA's print indexes: Religion Index One (RIO), Religion Index Two (RIT), and Index to Book Reviews in Religion (IBRR). Though coverage is from 1949 to the present, not all publications began in 1949. Alternate version: ATLA Religion Database with ATLA Serials in the classic EBSCO user interface (best for exporting more than 50 results or combining saved searches).
In addition to these databases, there are several other article databases that will be useful to both historians and religious studies scholars:
- Bibliography of British and Irish History Online This link opens in a new windowThe Bibliography of British and Irish History (BBIH) provides bibliographic data on historical writing dealing with the British Isles, and with the British Empire and Commonwealth, during all periods for which written documentation is available - from 55BC to the present. It is the successor to the Royal Historical Society Bibliography of British and Irish History, available online from 2002 to 2009. The Bibliography aims to be as comprehensive as is practical for publications since 1900 and has been enriched by co-operation with other projects. Data from the London's Past Online project were added to the database in January 2003 and the first batch of data from Irish History Online was added in August 2004, with further batches from both projects being added later. From the end of 2006 the Bibliography has co-operated with teams working under the auspices of the Scottish Historical Review Trust which will henceforth edit the primarily Scottish titles in the database.
- Index Islamicus This link opens in a new window
Alternate version: Index Islamicus in the classic EBSCO user interface (best for exporting more than 50 results or combining saved searches). Index to literature on Islam, the Middle East and Muslim areas of Asia and Africa, and Muslim minorities elsewhere. Includes citations to over 2,000 journals, conference proceedings, monographs, and book reviews from 1906 to present.
- Index to Jewish Periodicals This link opens in a new window
Alternate version: Index to Jewish Periodicals in the classic EBSCO user interface (best for exporting more than 50 results or combining saved searches). This database provides a comprehensive guide to English-language articles, book reviews, and feature stories in more than 160 journals devoted to Jewish affairs. Titles include Contemporary Jewry, Holy Land Studies, Jewish Culture & History, Journal of Palestine Studies, Studies in American Jewish Literature, and many more. Most references are not found in standard periodical literature guides. Index to Jewish Periodicals is intended for students of Jewish thought and others interested in contemporary Jewish and Middle Eastern affairs. Journal coverage dates back as far as 1988.
- Old Testament Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Alternate version: Old Testament Abstracts in the classic EBSCO user interface (best for exporting more than 50 results or combining saved searches). Old Testament Abstracts is a product of a partnership between ATLA and the Catholic Biblical Association. The database features indexing and abstracts for journal articles, monographs, multi-author works, and software related to Old Testament studies. Content from over 450 journals is covered. All abstracts are in English, regardless of the language of the original work. Topics covered include antiquities, archaeology, biblical theology, philology and much more. Coverage in the database dates back to 1978.
- New Testament Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Alternate version: New Testament Abstracts in the classic EBSCO user interface (best for exporting more than 50 results or combining saved searches). New Testament Abstracts Online is a product of a partnership between ATLA and Boston College. The database is an indispensable research and bibliographic aid for scholars, librarians, clergy and students of the New Testament and its historical milieu. The database contains more than 44,000 article abstracts, 1,200 review abstracts, 16,500 book abstracts, and 50 software abstracts. Each year an additional 2,000 articles from more than 500 periodicals in numerous languages are selected for inclusion. In addition, approximately 900 current books are also summarized annually. Article coverage in the database dates back to 1985.
For even more article databases that might be relevant to your research, see the list here of article indexes and online bibliographies in our guide to the:
- History, Philosophy, and Newspaper Library Online Reference CollectionA guide to article indexes, bibliographies, catalogs, encyclopedias, biographical dictionaries, directories, and other important reference works available online.
Full-Text Databases
Although article databases are usually the best place to start a general search for journal articles, if you have very specific keywords in mind, full text journal article collections can sometimes yield good results.
For older journals, use:
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowProvides page images of back issues of the core scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences, and basic sciences from the earliest issues to within a few years of current publication. Users may browse by journal title or discipline, or may search the full-text or citations/abstracts. New issues of existing titles and new titles are added approximately on a weekly basis. The University of Illinois has access to the following JSTOR collections: Arts & Sciences I-XV, 19th Century British Pamphlets, Business IV, Global Plants, Hebrew Journals, Ireland, Life Sciences Collection, Lives of Literature, Security Studies, Struggles for Freedom - South Africa, Sustainability, and World Heritage Sites - Africa.
Several major journals in JSTOR include:
- American Historical Review
- Eighteenth-Century Studies
- English Historical Review
- French Historical Studies
- Hispanic American Historical Review
- History and Theory
- Journal of African History
- Journal of American History (and its predecessor, Mississippi Valley Historical Review)
- Journal of Black Studies
- Journal of Interdisciplinary History
- Journal of Modern History
- Journal of Negro History
- Journal of Southern History
- Past and Present
- Speculum
- American Jewish History
- Buddhist-Christian Studies
- Islamic Studies
- Japanese Journal of Religious Studies
- Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
- Journal of Africana Religions
- Journal of Mormon History
- Die Welt des Islams
For recent issues of hundreds of scholarly journals:
- Project Muse This link opens in a new windowFull-text articles from more than 200 scholarly journals in history and the humanities, the social sciences, and the sciences. Disciplines covered include literature and criticism, history, the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, education, political science, gender studies, economics, and many others. A brief bibliographic description of each title is given. Searches can be conducted across the full text of all journals in the database.
Some of the major journals in Project MUSE include:
- American Quarterly
- Catholic Historical Review
- Eighteenth-Century Studies
- Ethnohistory
- French Colonial History
- Hispanic American Historical Review
- History and Memory
- Journal of Cold War Studies
- Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History
- Journal of Interdisciplinary History
- Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies
- Journal of the History of Medicine
- Journal of the History of Sexuality
- Journal of Women's History
- Radical History Review
- Victorian Studies
- American Catholic Studies
- American Journal of Theology & Philosophy
- Buddhist-Christian Studies
- Catholic Historical Review
Finally, a very useful, but often overlooked, source of journals for historians and religious studies scholars is:
- Periodicals Archive Online This link opens in a new windowPeriodicals Archive Online is a major archive that makes the backfiles of scholarly periodicals in the arts, humanities and social sciences available electronically, providing access to the searchable full text of hundreds of titles. The database spans more than two centuries of content, 37 key subject areas, and multiple languages.
As more and more journals become available online, some through commercial "aggregators" and others individually, it becomes difficult to keep track of all the e-journals available in a particular discipline. How can you determine if a particular journal is available electronically?
- University of Illinois Library Catalog: Journal SearchA catalog of the Library's journal collection, with emphasis on online journals and periodicals. Most useful as a catalog of e-journals, but you can also use it to locate print copies.