Useful Databases
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African American HeritageSearch essential records for African Americans, including federal census, marriage and cohabitation records, military draft and service records, registers of slaves and free(d) persons of color, Freedman's Bank, and more. (Provided by LSTA funds administered by the AR State Library)
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American History This link opens in a new window
Surveys American history from the Colonial era to the nation’s rise to eminence as a global superpower and provdies analysis of American political conflict, economic development, and changing culture. (Provided by LSTA funds administered by the AR State Library)
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American History in Video This link opens in a new windowLarge online collection of American history videos with full-text, printable transcripts. Fully searchable interface, includes newsreels, documentary films and biographical videos with coverage from the eighteenth century to modern day.
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JSTORAn archival database of journals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. The collection includes Arts and Sciences I-IV. Journal issues are not current; most titles are available after a 5-year delay.
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ProQuest This link opens in a new window
The largest aggregated database of periodical content in a wide range of subjects. How do I use this?
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PQ Military DatabaseCovers topics across all government and military branches, including international relations, political science, criminology, defense, aeronautics and space flight, communications, civil engineering and more.
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PQ Social Science DatabaseCoverage across a wide range of social science disciplines including anthropology, criminology, economics, education, political science, psychology, social work and sociology.
Google Scholar
Google Scholar is a great resource to see what type of scholarly articles have been written on your topic. While you may not be able to read the full-text article through Google Scholar, you can always search our databases to see if the full-text is available through our subscriptions.
Journals vs. Trade vs. Magazines
Here's a guide to help you determine the article you found is a scholarly, trade, or magazine source.
| Scholarly | Trade | Magazine | |
| Content | Articles reporting research, methodology, and theory | Short articles about a certain business or industry | Current events and general interest articles |
| Purpose | Share research and scholarship with academic community | To inform those in a business or industry about relevant news, trends, and products | To inform, entertain, and elicit emotion regarding personalities, news, and general interests |
| Author | Researchers, professors; credentials provided | Members of a specific business, industry, or organization; staff writers | Non-professionals; Frequently journalists; may or may not have expertise |
| Audience | Scholars and researchers including college students | Industry professionals | General public |
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Review (Accountability) |
Editorial board; some are peer-reviewed; bibliographies | Editors working for publication; might have short bibliography; not peer-reviewed | Editors working for publication; not experts |
| Advertisement | Few, if any | Moderate; geared toward products for industry professionals | Heavy; numerous glossy ads and photos for lots of products |
| Appearance | Plain; black and white graphics/illustrations supporting findings | Glossy, colorful, and numerous photos | Glossy and large with lots of color pictures; catchy titles |
| Frequency | Quarterly or semi-annually | Usually weekly or monthly | Usually weekly or monthly |
| Citations | Bibliographies; footnotes/endnotes | None or very short bibliographies | None |
| Examples | Journal of Abnormal Psychology; | American Libraries |
Time; Health; Entertainment Weekly; Sports Illustrated |
Related Guides for Research Help
Ask a Librarian
Finding Articles Using the JSTOR database
A short video on how to find articles using the ERIC website.