Bronwen's thanks to colleague, Gemmicka Piper at IU - Indianapolis for allowing reuse of this graphic.
Below are suggested databases grouped by subject area as well as other subject guides. Don't limit yourself to one database or you will miss articles in other journals. Explore and experiment, mix and match! Some additional subject guides, which include lists of databases related to specific fields of study, are included below, but all can be found at the following link:
Be aware: Suggested topics below do NOT automatically translate to be the best keywords for your search. Also, databases do NOT work like Google. In order to learn how to search these databases, check out the other pages in this guide.
These databases are good starting places for all topics and subject areas:
A multidisciplinary database with full text content in the arts, social sciences, humanities and sciences.
Provides access to multiple science and social science databases: Arts & Humanities Citation Index (1975 - present), Social Sciences Citation Index (1956 - present), Science Citation Index (1900 - present), Conference Proceedings Citation Index-Science (1990 - present), and Conference Proceedings Citation Index-Social Science & Humanities (1990 - present). Also includes Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI).
Choose one of these databases if your topic relates to:
hiring employees
marketing a product or service
staff training
customer relations
reducing theft
employee retention
improving communication among staff
Articles from important scholarly business journals dating back to 1886. Includes industry & market research , SWOT analyses, over 600 books and more than 1,200 journals in the areas of business, marketing, management, finance and economics.
Provides access to a full-text database of over 15,000 sources including newspapers, journals, wire services, newsletters, company reports and SEC filings, case law, government documents, and selected reference works. Access the future new interface, Nexis, along with Nexis Dossier and Total Patent One from the top left menu.
1951 - present. MEDLINE is the U.S. National Library of Medicines premier bibliographic database, covering biomedicine and life sciences topics. Includes references from journals, newspapers, magazines, and newsletters. Use the drop down menu to select PubMed only. Use icons or Get it at UC to link to full text.
If your topic relates to educational topics like these, choose one of these databases:
student retention
student involvement or engagement
student government or organizations
membership campaigns
student participation
student life
1966 - present. Covers all areas of education, including adult, urban, rural, vocational, elementary, early childhood, handicapped, gifted, and higher education. Includes citations and abstracts to journal articles (EJ) and documents (ED) in education. Via EBSCO.
1966 - present. Covers all areas of education, including adult, urban, rural, vocational, elementary, early childhood, handicapped, gifted, and higher education. Includes citations and abstracts to journal articles (EJ) and documents (ED) in education. Via ProQuest.
If your topic is related to social or political issues, choose one of these databases:
Simultaneously searches multiple social science databases, including EconLit, ERIC (education), Philosopher's Index, PsycARTICLES, and many more.
Previously PAIS International (Public Affairs Information Service). Covers issues in the public debate through selective coverage of a wide variety of international sources including journal articles, books, government documents, statistical directories, grey literature, research reports, conference papers, web content, and more.
If your topic relates to student athletics, try these databases below and also see education-related databases above.
1951 - present. Includes more than 22 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. PubMed facilitates searching across several NLM literature resources including MEDLINE, PubMed Central, and Bookshelf. Citations may include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and Bookshelf. MEDLINE articles are indexed with MeSH (Medical Subject Headings). Use Get it at UC to locate the full text when not otherwise available.
If your topic relates to one of the following topics, choose a database below:
volunteers
fund raising
nonprofit organizations
Provides news and grant information for tax-exempt organizations in health, education, religion, the arts, social services, and other fields.
Click Get it at UC to easily find the full-text of a resource.
If we do not have it full-text in our collection, you will have an option to Request the item through Interlibrary Loan (ILL) at no cost to you.
If you have a public library card, you can use the business and sports databases from MCL:
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