Research Guides: History: Finding Articles

Finding Articles Using the Library Databases

McKillop Library gives you access to several databases that will help you find useful articles for your research. If you'd like more information on any of these databases, stop by the Information Desk or feel free to contact me through email or in person.

As with books, you want to start searching databases by using keywords (so if your research question was "What impact did the slave trade have on the early development of Rhode Island?," you should try words like "slave trade," "slavery," "triangle trade," "Rhode Island," or even specific Rhode Island towns like Newport).

America: History & Life with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Provides journal articles on the history and culture of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to the present. 1955-present.
http://salve.libguides.com/america_history_life
Historical Abstracts with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Indexing and full-text from history journals, book chapters, dissertations. Covers the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 forward.
http://salve.libguides.com/historical_abstracts
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
An archive of full-text academic journals and ebooks from the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Journals in JSTOR have an embargo, which means that most journals do not include the most recent approximately 3 to 5 years of issues.
http://salve.libguides.com/jstor
Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture & Law This link opens in a new window
All known law related materials on slavery in the United States and the English-speaking world. This includes every statute passed by every colony and state on slavery, every federal statute dealing with slavery, and all reported state and federal cases on slavery.
https://ez-salve.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://heinonline.org/HOL/Index?collection=slavery

Refine Your Search

While searching the databases, keep an eye out for features that will let you isolate more relevant articles from long result lists. Start out on the advanced search screen to take advantage of special features. In America: History & Life and Historical Abstracts, you can limit your search to certain historical time periods. See below for example.

After you have initiated a search query, you can refine your results using the tool bar on the left. Some typical and useful refining features include narrowing results by publication date, source type, subject term, or geographic region. The features in this section will often vary by database, so make sure to take a few minutes to explore this section whenever you use a database for the first time.

Google Scholar

You can also use Google Scholar (one of Google's special tools) to find peer-reviewed, scholarly articles.

Google Scholar

Optimize your use of Google Scholar by linking it to the library. This allows Google Scholar to also search for the full-text of articles in the library's databases. See below for instructions of how to do this.

1. Go to Google Scholar and select the three-line button that is to the left of the logo on the top left of the screen. Select "Settings."

2. Go to library links, and search for Salve Regina University in the search box. Make sure to click the box for Salve Regina University and save your settings.

*Note: Google Scholar will not provide you with the same refining feature options that the library databases do.