Library Research Guides: WRIT 146: Alternative Worlds: Find Articles & Books

Intro to Library Databases

What is a database?

Databases are resources that contain information that is organized to make it easier to search and access.

The most common kind of library databases contain articles from academic journals and other publications, but there are many kinds of databases--databases for images, videos, data, news, and many other kinds of sources!

Why should I use a library database?

Not everything can be found in SuperSearch! Articles and books in some databases don't show up in SuperSearch.
Databases are often specialized by subject area (such as history, sociology, art, film/media studies, psychology, etc.).
- Searching in subject-specific databases focuses your search and helps you find more relevant sources.
- Subject-specific databases often offer special filters or search features designed to help researchers in that subject find what they need.
  - For example, in a history database, you might be able to limit your search results to those covering a particular historical period.
Databases contain information not available through general internet search engines (such as Google).
- Many articles that are usually behind paywalls can be accessed through library databases. Wellesley College subscribes to over 300 different databases!

Search Key Databases for Topics in Literature

Databases can contain a combination of full-text (ready to read online) and citation information that can lead you to articles, book chapters, or books. In addition to searching literature databases, you may want to search a database in a subject area that relates to a theme you are exploring, such as climate change or gender issues. See Selected Databases in Other Subject Areas below.

Literature Online (LION) This link opens in a new window
Literary texts from 1600 to the present, with literary criticism full-text 1998 to present.
MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
Index to publications on literature, linguistics, film, and folklore, from all cultures, 1963 to present. International in scope, it includes citations to journal articles, books, articles in books, series, translations, scholarly editions, websites, and dissertations.
Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new window
Biographies, bibliographies and full-text critical analysis of authors from all genres and eras, including the contents of Contemporary Authors, Dictionary of Literary Biography, and Contemporary Literary Criticism.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Collection of key scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences & natural sciences, starting from the first issue but typically not the most recent 3-5 years.

Selected Databases in Other Subject Areas

The databases here are just a few that could be useful for the kinds of research topics you might be pursuing in this course. Some, like Academic Search Complete, are multidisciplinary. Others, like the America: History and Life or Sociological Abstracts, focus on specific subject areas. Check out our Database A-Z list and sort by Subject to see other databases that could be relevant for your topic.

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
The world's largest scholarly, multi-disciplinary full text database. Dates of coverage vary by title and go back as far as 1887.
America: History & Life with Full Text This link opens in a new window
U.S. and Canadian history and culture articles, prehistory to present, written from 1955 to present.
Historical Abstracts with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Articles on world history from 1450, excluding US & Canada, written since 1955. Can be co-searched with America: History & Life
Social Science Premium Collection This link opens in a new window
Search many social science databases at once. Disciplines covered include sociology, political science, education, economics, anthropology, linguistics, and criminology. Component databases can also be searched individually.
Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Indexes international scholarly literature in sociology, 1952 to present.
Science Database This link opens in a new window
STEM articles from 1986 to present, from hundreds of journals in both the applied and general sciences.
GenderWatch This link opens in a new window
With a focus on how gender impacts a broad spectrum of subject areas, this collection gathers historical perspectives on the evolution of the women's movement, men's studies, the transgender community, and changes in gender roles, including articles dating back as far as the 1970s.
LGBTQ+ Source This link opens in a new window
Index to literature on topics pertaining to sexuality and gender identity, including full text for over 140 of the most important and historically significant LGBTQ+ journals, magazines, and regional newspapers.

Try these Search Tips

Use quotation marks " " to search words as a phrase. This will narrow your results.

"science fiction"

Use AND to combine multiple concepts in your search. This will narrow your results.

"science fiction" AND gender

Use OR to find different ways your topic could be expressed. This will expand your results. Group these related terms in parentheses, so the database interprets them first. The following search will find results that have any one of the terms in parentheses as well as the phrase "science fiction."

"science fiction" AND (gender OR "sex role" OR femininity OR masculinity)

Use an asterisk * to find variant endings. This will expand your results

"science fiction" AND (gender* OR "sex role" OR feminin* OR masculin*)