Library Research Guides: WRIT 188: Stadium as Stage: Library Databases

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?

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!
Databases are often specialized by subject area (such as history, sociology, art, film/media studies, psychology, etc.)
- Searching in subject-specific databases means you're more likely to find 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.

Key Databases

When searching, skimming items you come across in your results can be a key way to evaluate whether they will be a useful source for your writing. See UNC Chapel Hill's guide to skimming for tips.

SuperSearch
Searches books, journal articles, newspaper articles, and other resources available through Wellesley. Limit your search to academic & peer-reviewed journal articles using the filtering options on your search results screen.

Sociological Abstracts

Scholarly and peer reviewed articles in sociology.
America: History & Life with Full Text

Peer reviewed articles and book reviews of American and Canadian history, prehistory to present and searchable by historical time period.
PsycINFO

Citations to journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations from the international scholarly literature of psychology and psychological aspects of related disciplines. Access to a thesaurus of psychological terms.
Communication & Mass Media Complete

Scholarly journal articles and magazine articles in the fields of communications, mass media, journalism, television, film, radio, newspaper publishing, speech, broadcasting, and advertising.
Olympic Movement: Sport, Global Politics and Identity

Primary sources include correspondence, official reports, newsletters, film footage, and more, presenting a documentary record of the origins, expansion and growth of the Olympic Games, and the global history of sport. Topics include protest, disability, gender, media, and more.
Dates: 1896-1992 CE
This database will no longer be available after Dec. 31, 2025. If you have questions, please contact askus@wellesley.edu.

From Keywords to Search Strategy

Note:

On each page of the tutorial, wait for the prompt before moving to the next page.
When prompted to open up a database on the final page, use Wellesley's SuperSearch or one of the databases on this page or on the Databases A-Z page.

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike by The WI+RE Team 2020, UCLA Library.