Searching in databases also follows the General-to-Specific idea. You want to try your first set of searches in a general database, like Academic Search Complete, in order to get a feel for what's out there. Then, once you have a better grasp on what you are looking for, you can use more subject specific database sources.
If you get lost or aren't sure where to look, ask Jen at jenniferp@elmhurst.edu!
These databases are good sources for a wide variety of popular and scholarly articles on a wide range of topics. This makes them a good place to start your search.
Provides abstracts from over 12,500 periodicals in the social sciences, humanities, general science, multicultural studies, and others, with full text articles from 8,500 titles, including more than 7,300 that are peer-reviewed. Almost every topic of study is covered. The database is updated daily, and includes searchable cited references from more than 1,400 journals.
OmniFile Full Text Select Edition is a multidisciplinary, 100% full-text database providing full text articles, with their accompanying indexing and abstracts. Coverage of more than 3100 publications goes back to 1994.
Because you are creating an argument based issues paper, you may need to explore some subject- or discipline- specific resources. The rest of this page has databases organized by subject areas. Try a few that relate to your topic. If you need help figuring out the best approach, ask Jen or at the Reference Desk.
Use these databases to search for scholarly and professional information on a variety of science and science-related topics.
An electronic publication of the American Mathematical Society (AMS) offering access to a searchable database of reviews, abstracts and bibliographic information for mathematical sciences literature. Continuing in the tradition of the paper publication, Mathematical Reviews (MR), over 40,000 reviews are added to the database each year.
Use these databases to search for scholarly and professional literature on topics related to medicine, nursing or kinesiology.
The largest full-text companion to the MEDLINE index, providing medical professionals and researchers unparalleled access to full-text journals, including numerous top biomedical publications.
Provides full text for more than 1,300 journals indexed in CINAHL. Provides indexing for more than 5,000 journals from the fields of nursing and allied health. Covers nursing, biomedicine, health sciences librarianship, alternative/complementary medicine, consumer health and 17 allied health disciplines. Searchable cited references for nearly 1,500 journals are also included.
Features searchable full text for over 80 journals on consumer health topics, including food science and nutrition, child care and sports medicine. Also includes hundreds of health topic pamphlets, health reference books and clinical reference health system reports.
Contains selective full-text access to over 500 scholarly full text journals focusing on many medical disciplines. Includes AHFS Consumer Medication Information, which covers 1,300 generic drug patient education sheets with more than 4,700 brand names.
Provided by the Sport Information Resource Centre, SPORTDiscus offers comprehensive, bibliographic coverage of sport, fitness and related disciplines. This database contains well over 1.7 million records with journal and monograph coverage going back to 1800; over 22,000 dissertations and theses and reference to articles in 60 different languages.
These databases contain scholarly and professional literature in a wide range of social science topics--mass media, sociology, psychology, criminal justice.
Covers a variety of areas pertaining to communication and mass media. The product of a merging of CommSearch and Mass Media Articles Index, CMMC contains the full text of over 500 titles in addition to citations to several other types of documents and searchable cited references.
Covers professional and academic literature in psychology and related disciplines including medicine, psychiatry, nursing, sociology, education, pharmacology, physiology, linguistics, and other areas. There are 2,500 titles indexed, and linked full text is available.
Contains more than 2.3 million records as well as abstracts for over 2,500 journals, as well as conference papers, books, and monographs. Includes almost 900 full text journals, hundreds of books, thousands of conference papers, and 25,000 author profiles. Topics covered include urban studies, anthropology, criminology and criminal justice, ethnic and racial studies, marriage and the family, social psychology, and sociological theory.
