Recommended Databases
This page introduces recommended research databases for the subjects covered in wintersession courses. Library databases are an ideal starting point for your research, as the sources in these databases are vetted by librarians for quality and appropriateness for use in your classes.
For additional databases, check out our Databases By Subject list or the full A-Z list of databases.
Don't see any databases for your subject area? Check out the list of LibGuides to see if we have one for your class and find helpful information and recommended research tools specifically for that course.
Best Bets for Scholarly Sources
If you don't know where to start but you know you need scholarly journal articles, below are a few general databases worth checking out in addition to those recommended based on your subject area:
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Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new windowAcademic Search Complete offers an enormous collection of full-text journals, providing users access to critical information from many sources unique to this database. In addition, it includes peer-reviewed full text for STEM research, as well as for the social sciences and humanities. Scholarly content covers a broad range of important areas of academic study, including anthropology, engineering, law, sciences and more.
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JSTOR This link opens in a new windowJSTOR consists entirely of scholarly journal articles from titles in various disciplines. Topics include: archeology, art & art history, Asian studies, biology, botany, business, ecology, economics, education, history, language & literature, law, music, psychology, political science, sociology, and more.
Reference Sources
Reference sources are sources that provide factual information about a topic, like encyclopedias, dictionaries, manuals, guidebooks, and more. These sources are ideal for getting more familiar with a subject, gathering background information, or starting research. Check out the full list of reference databases here. NOTE: These are not scholarly/academic/peer-reviewed research sources.
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Britannica Online This link opens in a new windowCombines Encyclopædia Britannica and Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus, periodicals, atlas, world data, the Classics, biographies, news, and multimedia.
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CredoWith regular updates, this Collection includes 3 million entries from notable subject encyclopedias, handbooks, guides, companions and readers covering over 80 major subject disciplines and more than 6 million research concepts. In addition to full-text content, the Academic Core Collection provides access to more than 1,000 videos and animations, as well as 500,000 contextual visual aids, images, photographs and maps.
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H.W. Wilson Reference Shelf This link opens in a new windowA collection of generalist reference eBooks including titles: The Digital Age, The Transformation of American Cities, Racial Tensions in a “Post-Racial” Age, Immigration, Rethinking Work, Campaign Trends & Election Law, Guns in America, Internet Abuses and Privacy Rights, Prescription Drug Abuse, Post-Truth and the Information War, Artificial Intelligence, The American Dream, Affordable Housing, and more.
Science/Health & Medicine
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Science Reference Center This link opens in a new windowContains full-text science encyclopedias, reference books, periodicals, etc. Topics covered include: biology, chemistry, earth & space science, environmental science, health & medicine, history of science, life science, physics, science & society, science as inquiry, scientists, technology and wildlife.
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Consumer Health Complete This link opens in a new windowA comprehensive resource for consumer-oriented health content such as articles, evidence-based reports, reference books and fact sheets. Covers all areas of health and wellness. Updated on a weekly basis.
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CINAHL with Full-Text This link opens in a new windowCINAHL (Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature) includes full-text (complete articles) from nursing and allied health journals and other publications.
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MEDLINE This link opens in a new windowCreated by the National Library of Medicine. MEDLINE provides authoritative medical information on medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, pre-clinical sciences, and much more. Search MEDLINE through EBSCOhost's interface.
Psychology & Sociology
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APA PsycARTICLES This link opens in a new windowAPA PsycArticles®, from the American Psychological Association (APA), is a definitive source of full text, peer-reviewed scholarly and scientific articles in psychology.
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SocINDEX with Full-Text This link opens in a new windowSocINDEX with Full Text is a full-text research database covering sociology and related disciplines. It features hundreds of full-text journals and millions of records with subject headings from a sociological thesaurus.
History/Government
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Issues & Controversies in History This link opens in a new windowExplore both sides of controversial issues in history with this Infobase database.
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ABC-CLIO This link opens in a new windowSearch Pop Culture Universe, The African American Experience, The American Indian Experience and The Latino American Experience.
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HeinOnline This link opens in a new windowThis interdisciplinary resource includes local and state legal, history, economics, business, ecology, medicine, and criminal justice resources related to political and economic issues.
Business/Marketing
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Business Source Premier This link opens in a new windowThe industry’s most used business research database, providing full text for journals and peer-reviewed titles back to 1886. Includes market research reports, company and industry profiles, country profiles, as well as management, MIS, POM, accounting, finance and economics information. Updated daily.
Music
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JSTOR- Music Collection This link opens in a new windowJSTOR's collection of music periodicals and books. Use the search bar to look for composers, musicians, movements, instruments and more in the scholarly literature.
Contemporary Topics/News
These first 2 databases are ideal for finding factual information about and getting multiple perspectives on current or controversial issues from a variety of sources. For more, check out the Contemporary & Controversial section on the Databases By Subject page.
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Opposing Viewpoints in Context This link opens in a new windowFind pro and con viewpoint articles on controversial topics. Includes periodical articles along with thousands of podcasts.
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SIRS Issues Researcher This link opens in a new windowContains information on controversial topics of current interest. Provides topic overviews, links, full-text popular sources, multimedia, and websites that are carefully selected from thousands of domestic and international sources.
The databases below are intended to provide access to articles from popular periodicals, like magazines and newspapers.
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Newsbank This link opens in a new windowContains more than 2,000 news sources from around the country including St Louis Post Dispatch and the Kansas City Star. Find diverse perspectives on topics related to controversial issues, the environment, health, education, science, the arts, literature, business, economics, criminal justice, and more from a variety of current and retrospective news media including newspapers, newswires, broadcast transcripts, blogs, periodicals, videos and web-only content.
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Masterfile Premier This link opens in a new windowHas many popular periodicals covering general reference, business, health, education, general science, multicultural issues and much more. This database also contains reference books, primary source documents, and images including maps & flags. Contains the popular title Consumer Reports.