Article Indexes
The principal database for identifying journal articles in American history is America: History and Life:
- America: History and LifeThe main article database for researching American history. Use to find journal articles, book reviews, and dissertations on all periods of North American history. Includes some links to full text. Complements Historical Abstracts. Indexes publications from 1964-present.
Although America: History and Life is considered the most "important" article index for research in American history, there are several other very important article indexes, any of which might be crucial for research depending on the focus of your research:
- Academic Search UltimateA multi-disciplinary source for journal articles. One strategy: perform a broad keyword search, then use limiters such as "peer-reviewed" to focus in on more relevant results. Good for book reviews. Comparable to Google Scholar but with additional features.
- Alternative Press Index and Alternative Press Index ArchiveIdentifies articles from alternative newspapers, magazines and journals. Indexes publications from 1969-present. Alternative Press Index file actually only covers 1991-present. To add 1969-1990, you must click "Choose Databases" above search box, and select Alternative Press Index Archive as well.
- Left IndexIdentifies articles written from a leftist political, economic, social or cultural perspective. Includes some retrospective coverage of historically significant left wing publications like the People (New York, N.Y. : 1891). Indexes publications from 1982-present.
- Readers' Guide RetrospectiveThe backfile for Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature, one of the oldest and most common article indexes. Identifies articles from general interest periodicals, including popular magazines such as "Life", "Look", "Colliers", "Ladies’ Home Journal", "Catholic World", "Good Housekeeping", "Saturday Evening Post", and "Country Life". Emphasis on American periodicals. Indexes publications from 1890-1982.
- Humanities and Social Sciences Index RetrospectiveIndexes articles from over 1,000 periodicals and journals in the humanities and social sciences. Digitized version of H.W. Wilson's Humanities Index and Social Sciences Index. Indexes publications from 1907-1984.
- Education Index RetrospectiveIdentifies articles in education-related periodicals and yearbooks. Indexes publications from 1929-1983.
- International Political Science AbstractsSubscription canceled. Identifies articles from political science periodicals published around the world. Indexes publications from 1989-present. For retrospective coverage, 1951-1988, consult the print volumes.
- Worldwide Political Science AbstractsIdentifies articles from political science periodicals published around the world. Indexes publications from 1975-present.
- PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service) IndexIdentifies articles, books, websites, statistics, yearbooks, directories, conference proceedings, pamphlets, reports, government documents, and microfiches on political, social, public policy issues. Indexes publications from 1915-present.
- Women's Studies InternationalIdentifies articles from women's studies journals as well as books, reports, websites, and conference papers. Indexes publications from 1972-present.
- Sociological Abstracts
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Identifies journal articles on all aspects of sociology, comparable in scope to SocINDEX, but includes more books, book chapters, dissertations, and conference papers. Indexes publications from 1952-present. - International Index to Black Periodicals (1900-present) and Marshall Index (1940-1946)Identifies articles on all aspects of Black studies, in journals from North America, Africa, and the Caribbean. Part of the Black Studies Center. Includes the Marshall Index, which covers 1940-1946. Indexes publications from 1902-present. In the current version of Black Studies Center, the International Index to Black periodicals and the Marshall Index have been combined into a single browsable file called "Black Literature Index," and are no longer separately searchable.
- LGBTQ+ SourceIdentifies articles on all aspects of LGBTQ studies from thousands of periodicals, books and reference works Also includes full text for more than 120 historically significant LGBT journals, magazines and regional newspapers, as well as full text for more than 150 books. Indexes publications from 1950-present.
- PRISMA (Publicaciones y Revistas Sociales y Humanísticas) with HAPI (Hispanic American Periodicals Index)
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Two key article databases for Hispanic American, Latin American, and Caribbean Basin studies. Multi-disciplinary. Identifies journal articles about Central America, South America, the Caribbean, Mexico, and Hispanics in the United States. While HAPI is an article index, PRISMA is a full text collection of scholarly journals. Together they cover a combination of peer reviewed and non-peer reviewed journals and periodicals. HAPI Indexes publications from 1966-present. - Chicano DatabaseIdentifies journal articles, newspaper articles, books, and book chapters on all aspects of the Chicano and Latino/Latina experience in the United States. Indexes publications from 1960s-present.
Full Text Journal Collections
Below is a list of major, full-text periodical collections. Note that these sources are not comprehensive: many full text journals are only available, entirely or in part, through their publisher's websites. For example: The Sixties: a Journal of History, Politics, and Culture, Radical History Review, and Journal of Black Studies.
Journals like The Sixties, Radical History Review, and Journal of Black Studies, are indexed by America: History and Life.
- JSTORThe full text of over 2,800 scholarly journals, with coverage back to the first issue for each, in some cases as far back as the 17th century. Recent issues of most journals in this database are embargoed by journal publishers, so to be certain you are also identifying the most recent publications, use an article index like Historical Abstracts or America: History, and Life.
- Project MUSEOver 600 scholarly journals, with emphasis on recent ten years of issues. Originally intended as a complement to JSTOR.
- Periodicals Archive Online
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1665-present. Over 700 European and American periodicals in the humanities and social sciences.
Other Full Text Periodical Collections
- African American Periodicals, 1825-1995About 170 periodicals published by, for, or about African Americans. Part of the Archive of Americana.
- Entertainment Industry Magazine Archive
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1880- . Major consumer and trade magazines, from their first issues through recent years. Includes: Variety; Picturegoer; Box Office; Back Stage; Stage; Billboard; Vox; Spin; Rolling Stone; Hollywood Reporter; and more. Emphasis is on Anglo-American publications. - The Economist Historical Archive, 1843-2014Influential global news weekly, based in London. Part of Gale Primary Sources: Newspaper and Periodical Databases (formerly Gale NewsVault).
- The Nation Historical Archive1865-present. Facsimile edition of the influential, American liberal news weekly.
- The Forbes Historical Archive, 1917-2000Influential business magazine for executives, managers, investors, and others engaged in business or commerce.
- Bloomberg Businessweek Archive1929-2000.
- News, Policy, and Politics Magazine Archive15 periodicals covering international relations and global policy in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, including Newsweek, Church and State, and State Legislatures.
- Religious Magazine Archive23 periodicals from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, chiefly United States and Britain, including Catholic World and Islamic Horizons.
- Education Magazine Archive25 periodicals documenting education in the twentieth century, primarily United States and Australia, but also Europe, with emphasis on professional publications like American Teacher, and Black Collegian.
- Art and Architecture Archive
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1896-2015. Art and architecture periodicals, including trade and consumer magazines. - Women's Magazine ArchiveExtensive runs of 18 major women's magazines, including Better Homes and Gardens (1886-2005); Cosmopolitan (1928-2005); Essence (1970-2005); Good Housekeeping (1885-2005); Ladies' Home Journal (1885-2005); Parents (1926-2005); Redbook (1903-2005); Seventeen (1944-2005); Town and Country (1846-2005); Woman's Day (1937-2005); Chatelaine (1928-2005); and WIN News (1975-2003). Coverage primarily twentieth century.
- The Harper's Bazaar Historical Archive
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1867-present. Full color, searchable facsimiles of every issue. Supports browsing by product name. - The Vogue Historical Archive
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1892-present. Full color, searchable facsimiles of every issue, with garment type, designer and brand name indexes. - GQ Archive1931-present. Full color reproductions. Includes the magazine's preceding title, Apparel Arts, 1931-1958. Includes a company/brand name index.