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.
Databases include articles from a variety of sources, including popular magazines, trade journals, and peer-reviewed, scholarly journals. You can refine your results by limiting them to document type.
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 UC San Diego networked computer to take advantage of "Get it at UC" linking.
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.
Historical archive of major trade and consumer magazines in film, television, music, radio, and theater, from their inception to 2000. Includes Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Back Stage, Billboard, and more.
Historical archive of major trade and consumer magazines in film, television, music, radio, and theater, from their inception to 2000. Includes Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Back Stage, Billboard, and more.
Search for scholarly publications across disciplines & sources: articles, theses/dissertations, books, and more, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities etc. Use Scholar Settings-->Library Links option to setup "University of California, San Diego - Get it at UC" and if you are searching from off campus, log in to the VPN to get full access to UC San Diego subscribed article content.
1863-present. International database for research on history of all regions (except the U.S. and Canada) from 1450 to the current decade. Content includes
indexing of historical articles from more than 2,300 journals in over 40 languages.
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.
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.
U.S. Major Dailies provides access to current content and significant archives dating back to the 1980s for five of the nation’s most respected national and regional newspapers, including The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and The Wall Street Journal, in full-text format.
