Databases are online tools that help you search for articles on a particular topic. Article databases are organized by broad subject areas (e.g. biology, art, political science, etc.), and some are interdisciplinary databases or ones that search across multiple disciplines. The database you use depends on the topic or subject you have chosen and the type of information you need to access.
How to pick a database:
The Library has access to hundreds of databases -- organized by broad subject areas. Try browsing our Databases A-Z list, or our Find Articles by Subjects list. Still not sure where to start? Here is a list suggested for your class:
Multidisciplinary database with 17,800+ journals and magazines, of which 16,000+ are peer-reviewed and 8,750+ are full-text. Also included are books, conference papers and proceedings, government documents, newspapers, video content, and more. Coverage begins in 1887, with material in English, Spanish, German, French, Italian and Portuguese.
Indexes over 18,000 journals in all subjects (coverage back to 1900 for science and social science journals), as well as 80,000 books and more than 180K conference proceedings. Includes the popular "cited reference search" to identify papers which have cited a previously published work or author. Can also sort by "times cited" and find related articles based on commonly cited works.
Search by subject or browse 2,600+ full-text titles, predominantly scholarly journals and books in social sciences, history, humanities, and science and mathematics, to their earliest issues. Many titles extend as far back as late 19th or early 20th centuries; most recent 3-5 years often not included. JSTOR provides access to more than 12 million academic journal articles, books, and primary sources in 75 disciplines.
Use databases to find articles that have been published in peer-reviewed, scholarly journals. These are just a few recommended for your research. The UCSD Library subscribes to many more databases.
Having trouble accessing a database?
You will need to use a computer here on campus or have your computer configured for off-campus access to search all of the databases below . You will also need to be using a UCSD networked computer to take advantage of UC-eLinks.
Search by subject or browse full text scholarly journals in the arts and humanities, social sciences and mathematics. More than 700 journals from over 250 university presses and scholarly publishers are available. Coverage begins 1906 or later, depending on the publication. UCSD also has access to over 30,000 book titles.
Nexis Uni contains thousands of full-text sources including newspapers, wires, transcripts, newsletters, magazines, trade journals; also industry news, company information, law reviews, court decisions, statutes. Coverage dates vary. International and U.S. sources.
Dates vary, but some historical coverage as far back as 1690. More than 5000 sources worldwide, including nearly 1500 in the U.S. Many historical newspapers are in digitized image form. Largely newspapers, with newswires, transcripts, newsletters, magazines, videos.
