Core Databases
Some very useful article databases for history are:
- Historical AbstractsJournal articles, book reviews, and dissertations on all aspects of world history, excluding North America, from 1450. Includes links to the full text of some articles. Complements America: History and Life. Indexes publications from 1954-present.
- 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.
- L'Année PhilologiqueCovers 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. Indexes publications from 1928-present.
- Brepolis Medieval and Early Modern BibliographiesIdentifies articles (over 4,000 journals covered) and books on the Medieval period in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. Indexes publications from 1958-present. Comprises three separate files: International Medieval Bibliography, the Bibliographie de Civilisation Médiévale = Bibliography of Medieval Civilisation (bibliographies published in the Cahiers de Civilisation Médiévale from 1958-2003), and Bibliographie internationale de l'Humanisme et de la Renaissance = International Bibliography of Humanism and the Renaissance.
Other Article Databases
In addition to these core databases, here are several multidisciplinary online article databases that provide indexing of articles on historical topics (note that some are useful for primary sources):
- Handbook of Latin American StudiesIdentifies journal articles, books, book chapters, and conference papers on Latin American Studies. Indexes publications from 1935-present.
- Bibliography of Asian StudiesMulti-disciplinary. Indexes journal articles, books, and book chapters, principally in Western languages on all subjects (especially humanities and social sciences) pertaining to East, Southeast, and South Asia. Indexes publications from 1971-present.
- Index IslamicusIdentifies journal articles, books, book chapters, and conference proceedings in European languages on all aspects of Islam and the Muslim world. Indexes publications from 1906-present.
- Iter Bibliography: Gateway to the Middle Ages and RenaissanceIdentifies journal articles, books, book chapters, dissertations, encyclopedia articles, exhibition catalogs, and conference proceedings on all aspects of Middle Ages and Renaissance studies. Part of Iter: Gateway to the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Indexes publications from 1784-present.
- Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender IndexMulti-disciplinary. Identifies journal articles, books, and book chapters about women, sexuality, and gender during the Medieval period. Indexes publications from 1990-2007.
- 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.
- ABSEES: American Bibliography of Slavic and East European StudiesMulti-disciplinary. Indexes journal articles, books, dissertations, government publications, and online resources from the United States and Canada. Indexes publications from 1989-present, with coverage back to 1939 for some materials.
- Periodicals Index OnlineIdentifies articles from over 5,500 humanites and social sciences periodicals. Searches are by title keyword only--no subject headings. Complements Periodicals Archive Online. Indexes publications from 1665-present.
- Index to Jewish PeriodicalsIdentifies English-language articles from journals and magazines on Jewish religion and Jewish life. Indexes publications from 1988-present. Print edition extends coverage back to 1963.
- Eight CenturiesFormerly Nineteenth Century Masterfile. The database originally combined "Index to Legal Periodical Literature, 1786-1922"; "Poole’s Index to Periodical Literature, 1802-1907"; and several indexes for general and religious periodical literature of the late 19th century. Date coverage varied by file. The database now cross searches dozens of additional sources, including digital collections, with coverage now 1100-1960.
- ATLA Religion Database and Catholic Periodical and Literature IndexATLA Religion Database Identifies journal articles and books on all aspects of Religious Studies. Indexing for some journal titles extends back into the 19th century. Indexes publications from 1949-present. Catholic Periodical and Literature Index identifies journal articles, book chapters, church publications, papal documents, and electronic resources about the Roman Catholic Church and its history. Indexes publications from 1981-present. For retrospective coverage: Print edition extends coverage back to 1968, with Catholic Periodical Index covering 1930-1966.
- MLA International Bibliography
This link opens in a new window
1920-present. Identifies articles, books, dissertations on literature, languages, film and folklore.
Full Text Article Databases
There are also several major collections of full-text online journals. In these databases you can browse individual issues of journals, or you can do a search across the entire database. Many of these collections can be used to find both primary and secondary sources. For example, JSTOR contains journals such as the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, which began publication in 1665.
- 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.
- Periodicals Archive Online
- This link opens in a new window
1665-present. Over 700 European and American periodicals in the humanities and social sciences. - Project MUSEOver 600 scholarly journals, with emphasis on recent ten years of issues. Originally intended as a complement to JSTOR.
- American Periodicals
- This link opens in a new window
1740-1940. Over 1,000 titles. Probably the single most important digital collection of early American periodicals. Includes the sub-collection American Periodicals from the Center for Research Libraries, which is particularly strong in trade and labor periodicals. - African American Periodicals, 1825-1995About 170 periodicals published by, for, or about African Americans. Part of the Archive of Americana.
- British Periodicals
- This link opens in a new window
Hundreds of influential British periodicals (literary, political, religious, and more) published between 1680 and 1940. - Eighteenth Century Journals1685-1835. Over 270 newspapers and periodicals from across the British Empire, but mostly from Britain.
- Nineteenth Century U.K. PeriodicalsPeriodicals published in Great Britain from 1800-1900. Many periodicals reproduced in full color. Series 1: New Readerships (emphasizing women, children, humour, leisure, and sport). Series 2: Empire (emphasizing travel, anthropology, economics, evangelism, colonialism). Part of Gale Primary Sources: Newspaper and Periodical Databases (formerly Gale NewsVault).
- Travel and Tourist Periodicals: Selections from the British Library1848-1913. 16 periodicals from the collections of the British Library. Part of Nineteenth Century Collections Online.