Find Articles via Subject Databases
How to Choose a Database
In deciding which database(s) to use, it is helpful to note:
- Who: Who is authoring these publications? Are these scholarly, popular, or industry sources?
- What: What can I find in the database? (e.g. articles, conference proceedings, data)
- When: When does coverage begin? How well is historical literature covered? Does it include articles published in the last year?
- Where: What is the geographical scope of the coverage? Does that match your research interest?
Recommended Subject Databases:
- Anthropology Plus This link opens in a new windowAnthropology Plus brings together into one resource the highly respected Anthropological Literature from Harvard University and Anthropological Index, Royal Anthropological Institute from the UK.
[Coverage: Late 19th century-present] - Association of Religion Data Archives This link opens in a new windowThe Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) strives to democratize access to the best data on religion. Founded as the American Religion Data Archive in 1997 and going online in 1998, the initial archive was targeted at researchers interested in American religion. The targeted audience and the data collection have both greatly expanded since 1998, now including American and international collections and developing features for educators, journalists, religious congregations, and researchers. Data included in the ARDA are submitted by the foremost religion scholars and research centers in the world. Currently housed in the Social Science Research Institute at the Pennsylvania State University, the ARDA is funded by the Lilly Endowment, the John Templeton Foundation, and the Pennsylvania State University.
- ATLA Religion Database This link opens in a new windowATLA indexes journal articles, book reviews, and collections of essays in more than 60 languages. Subject coverage includes Religious Studies, Biblical explication, Archaeology & Antiquities, Church History, Human Culture & Society, Missions & Ecumenism, Pastoral Ministry, Philosophy & Ethics, Theology, and World Religions.
[Coverage: 1949-present] - Bibliography of Asian Studies This link opens in a new windowThe online version of the Bibliography of Asian Studies contains more than 800,000 records on all subjects (especially humanities and social sciences) pertaining to East, Southeast, and South Asia published worldwide beginning in 1971 to present.
[Coverage: 1971-present, depending upon the subfile] - The Buddhist Digital Archives This link opens in a new windowAll users must REGISTER FOR A FREE ACCOUNT for full access.
This growing full text collection incorporates new publications, rare literature, and electronic texts including Tibetan publications from small printing houses, monasteries, and educational institutions in China, India, Bhutan, Nepal and elsewhere. - Digital South Asia Library This link opens in a new window"The Digital South Asia Library provides digital materials for reference and research on South Asia to scholars, public officials, business leaders, and other users" It includes books, journals, maps, photographs, statistics and much more.
- Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new windowCitations to articles on the history of the world from 1450 to the present (excluding the United States and Canada, which are covered in America: history and life.) Indexes more than 2000 journals worldwide.
[Coverage: 1967-present] - Index Islamicus This link opens in a new windowThe Index Islamicus database indexes literature on Islam, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Material cited in the Index Islamicus includes not only work written about the Middle East, but also about the other main Muslim areas of Asia and Africa, plus Muslim minorities elsewhere. Over 3,000 journals are monitored for inclusion in the database, together with conference proceedings, monographs, multi-authored works and book reviews. Journals and books are indexed down to the article and chapter level.
[Coverage: 1906-current] - RelBib: Bibliography of the Study of Religion This link opens in a new windowRelBib is a comprehensive online bibliography for the study of religion. It is available to interested users free of charge (Open Access), worldwide and without login. RelBib is published by Tübingen University Library and its content is supervised by the Subject Information Service for Study of Religion (FID Religionswissenschaft). The bibliography represents a special view of the underlying data pool of IxTheo (Index Theologicus) focussing on the field of the study of religion. It has its own web presence with the RelBib portal. A team specially for RelBib guarantees that the requirements and specializations of the study of religion community are adequately represented despite the common data pool.
- South Asia Open Archives (SAOA) This link opens in a new windowThe South Asia Open Archives (SAOA) is a rich and growing collection of historical and contemporary sources covering the arts, humanities, and social sciences, in English and South Asian languages, from and about South Asia. SAOA has been made possible through a collaborative grassroots initiative of U.S. research libraries and partners from South Asia and has grown out of the work of the South Asia Materials Project (https://www.crl.edu/programs/samp) (SAMP), which has been preserving rare and endangered South Asian materials since 1967. https://www.jstor.org/site/saoa/
How to Access the Full Text of an Article
"Get it at UC" Button
Most databases provide a description of articles and other resources to help you find what you need by searching through the indexed literature within their website. Included as part of the item record is the “Get it at UC” button. Clicking this button will direct you to a copy of the full text of the article.
Interlibrary Loan Request
If we do not own a journal or book, you can submit an interlibrary loan (ILL) request to have the book or article (e)mailed to you for free from another UC library. Learn more about how to request books or articles.
Search Tips
1. Limits/Filters: To focus your search, utilize database features that allow you to specify criteria such as date and publication type, e.g. peer reviewed journals.
2. Sort Order: Note how your search results are organized – many databases sort by date (most recent articles first) rather than relevance.
3. Subject Terms/Descriptors: Pay attention to the subject terms associated with relevant articles because they can lead to other sources on your topic.
4. Get an Article: If the full article is not available, look for . Use interlibrary loan to request copies of books, articles and other items that are not available through Get it at UC.
5. Not Satisfied? If you are not finding relevant results about your topic, try different combinations of search terms, or select another search tool.
Related Subject Guides
Below are recommended subject guides from disciplines covering religion, history, culture, and South Asia.
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Religious Studies
by Adam Siegel Last Updated Feb 13, 2024 538 views this year
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Anthropology
by David Michalski Last Updated Nov 30, 2023 206 views this year
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History of Asia
by David Michalski Last Updated Mar 26, 2024 464 views this year
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Middle Eastern / South Asian Studies
by Adam Siegel Last Updated Nov 30, 2023 97 views this year