African American African Diaspora Studies
Finding Articles
(and Reports, Book Chapters, etc.)
| Scholarly/Popular What are the Differences? | Searching Databases Background/Search Tips | Suggested Databases for AAADS | Access Print/Locate/Borrow if you know it exists |
Scholarly / Popular
How can you tell the difference between and scholarly and popular periodicals? The table shown below lists some differences between scholarly and popular sources.
| Scholarly | Popular |
| Written for scholars, researchers, professionals | Written for the general public |
| Long articles; in-depth coverage of research/study | Short articles summarizing research/issues |
| Articles include many bibliographical references | Few, if any, bibliographical references |
| Few ads; few photos unless related to research | Many ads and photos |
| Often issued quarterly | Usually issued weekly or monthly or daily (newspapers) |
| Often sponsored by academic/professional group |
For examples, see the Inflite tutorial.
Searching Article Databases
Background
University Library subscribes to hundreds of article indexing databases which are available to you on campus or from home once you have logged in with your user ID and password. These databases are important because they allow to search for articles by keyword, topic, title, author, etc. Remember, a library catalog such as IUCAT will allow you to search for journal titles, but will not allow you to search for specific articles within the journal.
Search Tips
To find out which databases are most likely to have the kinds of articles that will be helpful to you, check the "Database Descriptions", "Title List", or other "information" or "about" options available in a particular database. (Or see the section below on Suggested Databases for African American African Diaspora Studies specific databases).
Before you start entering any search terms, spend a few minutes trying to think of as many relevant terms and combinations of terms as you can. This will help you to avoid getting stuck in a rut with the first terms that come to mind.
If you need help in coming up with terms, you may want to try the databases' "Thesaurus" or "Subject Headings" features.
Check out the "Help" or "Search Tips" to learn some of the search features specific to that database. Most databases provide similar features, but the methods may vary.
Try the databases' Advanced Search feature, which usually gives you the ability to search multiple fields (author, title, keyword, subject, etc) with one search and may offer additional ways to expand or limit your search.
If your first search strategy does not work, try another approach. Remember, too, that you can ask for Reference Help.
Looking for a way to find out which electronic full-text journals IUPUI has access to? Then try here...
- AAADS Journals Online
Alphabetical listing of all electronic full-text journals to which IUPUI University Library has access. Use when you would like to search or browse a specific journal that is not necessarily in the field of African American African Diaspora Studies or when you already have a specific citation and want to see if the article is available online.
Suggested Databases
Full-Text Databases (Journals, Magazines, Book Reviews, and some Newspapers)
- Academic Search Premier (access via Academic Search Premier link or EBSCOhost Web link)
"Academic Search Premier offers full text for more than 2,000 serials, including more than 1,500 peer-reviewed titles. This multi-disciplinary database covers virtually every area of academic study. More than 100 journals have PDF images back to 1985. This database is updated on a daily basis via EBSCOhost." (from website) - ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials (access via EBSCOhost Web link)
"ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials combines the premier index to journal articles, book reviews, and collections of essays in all fields of religion with ATLA's online collection of major religion and theology journals. The ATLA Religion Database includes more than 416,000 article citations from more than 1,500 journals (571 currently indexed), more than 210,000 essay citations from over 15,700 multi-author works, and more than 432,000 book review citations. This database begins in 1949 although indexing for some journal titles extends back into the nineteenth century. This database is produced by the American Theological Library Association." (from website) - Criminal Justice Periodicals
"Search a comprehensive collection of U.S. and international criminal justice journals including information for professionals in law enforcement, corrections administration, drug enforcement, rehabilitation, family law, and industrial security." (from website) Covers from 1981 to the present. - Ethnic NewsWatch
"An interdisciplinary, bilingual (English and Spanish) and comprehensive full text database of newspapers, magazines and journals from ethnic, minority and native presses. This current database begins its coverage in 1990." (from website) Features basic and advanced searches, along with a topic guide, and listing of publications covered by the database." - Expanded Academic ASAP
Includes citations and many full-text articles. Very general database, but includes articles from AAADS, and sociology journals - Family & Society Studies Worldwide (access via EBSCOhost Web link)
"Family & Society Studies Worldwide, produced by NISC, is a core resource providing the most comprehensive coverage of research, policy, and practice literature in the fields of Family Science, Human Ecology, Human Development, and Social Welfare. FSSW is an anthology of 4 database files providing access to over 844,780 records. Coverage spans from 1970 to the present." (from website) - Humanities Full-Text (via Wilson Web)
Includes full text of social history. Good source for examining how various topics have been presented in literature throughout history as well as locating social history topics. - Humanities International Index (access via EBSCOhost Web link)
"Humanities International Index is a comprehensive database covering journals, books and other important reference sources in the humanities. Produced by Whitston Publishing (an imprint of EBSCO Publishing), Humanities International Index provides cover-to-cover indexing and abstracting for over 2,000 titles and contains more than 2 million records." (from website) - InfoTrac Religion & Philosophy
650,000+ articles from over 250 magazines and academic journals, covering religion, philosophy, archaeology and anthropology. Search can be limited to full-text and/or refereed (scholarly) publications. - IngentaConnect
Includes citations and many full-text articles. Very general database, but includes articles from AAADS cross-disciplinary journals. Not all content is peer-reviewed, but you can limit your search to return only peer-reviewed items. - International Index to Black Periodicals (IIBP) Full Text
"IIBP Full Text draws its current content from international scholarly and popular periodicals in Black Studies and contains full-text coverage of core Black Studies periodicals." (from website) Along with the search engine, database features multiple browsing options. - J-STOR
All full-text and scholarly articles. Presents the back-files or the complete run of important journals up to a relatively recent embargo date. No controlled vocabulary or subject headings used. May limit keyword search to abstract, title, full-text. This database is complemented well by the ProjectMuse journals. Please view this tutorial for guidance in searching within JSTOR. - LexisNexis
For more current full-text articles in newspapers and magazines search the News section of LexisNexis. Most articles are from late 1980's-present. - Master File Premier (access via EBSCOhost Web link)
"Designed specifically for public libraries, this multidisciplinary database provides full text for more than 1,700 general reference publications with full text information dating as far back as 1975. Covering virtually every subject area of general interest, MasterFILE Premier also includes nearly 500 full text reference books, 84,774 biographies, 100,554 primary source documents, and an Image Collection of 202,164 photos, maps and flags. This database is updated daily via EBSCOhost." (from website) - Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center
Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center covers social issues and "features viewpoint articles, topic overviews, full-text magazine, academic journal, and newspaper articles, primary source documents, statistics, images and podcasts, and links to Websites." (from the website) - Periodicals Archive Online
"Periodicals Archive Online is the new name for PCI Full Text - an archive of hundreds of digitised journals published in the arts, humanities and social sciences." (from website) - Project MUSE
All full-text, all scholarly. Great deal of social history and literature sources and historiography based articles. - PsycARTICLES
This database covers from 1894 to the present and offers full-text articles from 58 journals published by major psychology associations. Also features select chapters from American Psychological Association (APA) books.
Abstract-only and Citation-only Databases
- America: History and Life
An index with abstracts, may lead to full-text, All scholarly. Advanced search easily allows one to limit by time period, browse subject headings, and select the language of the article. U.S. and Canadian history only. - Arts and Humanities Citation Index (1987-)
Available through ISI's Web of Knowledge's Web of Science. This database features humanities citations from 1987 to the present. Features general, advanced, and cited reference searches. - Historical Abstracts
An index with abstracts, may lead to full-text, All scholarly. World, non-US history. - Periodicals Index Online
"Periodicals Index Online is the new name for Periodicals Contents Index - a database of millions of article citations published in the arts, humanities and social sciences, across more than 300 years." (from website) - PsycINFO
"PsycINFO is an abstract (not full-text) database of psychological literature from the 1800s to the present." (from website) Covers applied psychology, developmental psychology, personality. - Social Services Abstracts
Covering from 1979 to the present, this social services resource contains article abstracts on articles including social work, human services, social welfare, social policy. - Social Sciences Citation Index (1987- )
Available through ISI's Web of Knowledge's Web of Science. This database features social sciences citations from 1987 to the present. Features general, advanced, and cited reference searches. - Sociological Abstracts
Covering from 1952 to the present, this social sciences resource contains abstracts on articles including social structure, inequality, social change, social problems.
Newspaper Databases
- African American Newspapers: 19th Century (Windows Only)
A 40-million plus word searchable windows-based database of African-American newspapers from the 19th century. In addition, information on the papers included in the database. Also a source of primary material. Scroll down on list of resouces to reach database. - Ethnic NewsWatch
"An interdisciplinary, bilingual (English and Spanish) and comprehensive full text database of newspapers, magazines and journals from ethnic, minority and native presses. This current database begins its coverage in 1990." (from website) Features basic and advanced searches, along with a topic guide, and listing of publications covered by the database." - Historical New York Times (ProQuest Newspapers)
Searchable online database which houses full-text digitized version of New York Times from 1860's-2004. Includes advertisements and images. - Indiana Newsstand (ProQuest Newspapers)
"Full-text coverage of major Indiana newspapers including the South Bend Tribune, and the Evansville Courier, plus selected coverage of other regional sources and indexing for the Indianapolis News and Star." (from the website) - Indianapolis Star
Online version of the Indianapolis Star, covering from 1/1/1999 to the present. - LexisNexis
For more current full-text articles in newspapers and magazines search the News section of LexisNexis. Most articles are from late 1980's-present. - Los Angeles Times (ProQuest Newspapers)
"Major daily newspaper from Los Angeles. With the nation's largest editorial department, it offers extensive coverage of national, international, and local news." (from website) Covers from 1985 to the present. - McClatchy-Tribune Collection (access via EBSCOhost Web link)
"The McClatchy-Tribune Collection includes a 90-day archive of approximately 290 newspapers from the McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. This database is updated daily." (from website) - Newspaper Source (access via EBSCOhost Web link)
"Newspaper Source provides selected full text for nearly 30 national (U.S.) and international newspapers. The database also contains full text television & radio news transcripts, and selected full text for more than 200 regional (U.S.) newspapers. This database is updated daily via EBSCOhost." (from website) - ProQuest Newspapers
Combines the coverage of the Indiana Newstand (listed above) and the Los Angeles Times (listed above).
Access
When you find a reference for an article by using a database:
In the record for the article, if there is an icon for the PDF of the article (PDF Full Text - or something similar), click on it and the PDF of the article will open. You can then read, print, email, or save it. (If you want to print, be sure to use the Adobe printer icon or you will only get blank pages.)
If there is a choice between PDF and HTML, use the PDF because it will look like a photocopy of the article. If you need to quote something from the article, you will be able to see the correct page numbers of the quote (which you will need when citing your sources). In most cases, the HTML version will not indicate page breaks and will sometimes not include graphics.
If full text is not an option in the database you are searching, there should be an "SFX" linking icon shown.
Clicking on this icon will lead you to a menu of Access options. Please see this brief Flash tutorial if you have questions about this menu.
If the article is not available electronically or in print through University Library, or if you are a Distance Education student and the article is only available in print, you can place an Interlibrary Loan for the article. When the article comes in (which usually takes at least a week), you will receive an email explaining how to access it electronically.
When you find a reference for an article from some source other than a database:
To find out if University Library has access to an article that you have found in a bibliography or some other source, you can:
Enter the citation (reference) information into Citation Linker. This should bring you to the Access menu. Please see this brief Flash tutorial if you have questions about this method.
Or
Check the Electronic Journal List to see if the journal and issue are available electronically. If not, search IUCAT by Periodical Title for the journal and check to see if University Library has access to the journal and issue you need. If you would like to see how to check IUCAT for access to journal holdings, please see this brief Flash tutorial.
As always, if you have questions, please ask for Help.
