Online Databases

The following databases contain at least some peer-reviewed journal articles. To ensure that you find the scholarly articles look for limiter boxes labeled "peer-reviewed" or "scholarly" journals. This is a very short list of the many databases we subscribe to. If you do not find what you need here talk to a librarian about your research. There may be a database more appropriate to your topic.

Scholarly Sources

What is a Peer Reviewed Journal?

Scholarly, or peer-reviewed journals contain articles that are written for scholars by scholars. Articles are generally based on original research conducted by the authors, and go through the process of peer review - other scholars in the same field read and comment on the article and determine if it is worthy of publication. It is a lengthy process which can take up to several years. Some articles are never published. To identify a scholarly article in the Social Sciences look for these clues:

  • Is there an abstract?
  • Can you find an author affiliation?
  • Does the body of the article have headings such as "Introduction", "Methods", "Results", "Discussion", and "Conclusions" ? 
  • Are there References at the end?
  • Do you see charts, graphs, and tables, but few (if any) illustrations?

 

How Do I Find an Article when I have the Citation?

Enter the title of the article into the Google Scholar box to find out if Maxwell Library has the full text.