LibGuides: History: Research Basics: How to find Articles

Search for Journals

The Library has hundreds of journals that are suitable for your research. You can seach for specific titles or if you want to browse all journals in a subject category, use the Advanced Search feature.

What if the library doesn't have an article I need?

If you have the information for an article but the database says we don't own it (or it isn't in full text), follow these steps:

Journal search
Type in the title of the journal or magazine that your article appeared in. If it shows up on the result list, follow the link to the article database that contains it or find the copy in the library.
Information Delivery Service (IDS)
If we don't have direct access to the journal or magazine, you can request articles from another library.
Google Scholar
Sometimes a copy of the article is available on the Web.

Helpful Databases

America: History & Life with Full Text This link opens in a new window America: History & Life with Full Text is the definitive database of literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to the present. With selective selective indexing for 1,700 journals from 1955 to present, this database is without question the most important bibliographic reference tool for students and scholars of U.S. and Canadian history.

History Related Databases at Marshall University

What do we mean by library databases?

Journals, eBooks, newspapers, magazines, government documents, indexes, images, videos, citations are "collected" by different companies and placed into a searchable online format
Not all databases provide Full Text articles - use the citation information to request items Marshall does not own through Interlibrary Loan
Databases provide time saving research options
- advanced search functions to limit or refine results quickly
- citation copy and paste
- linked keywords so you can find additional materials

For a comprehensive list of ALL library databases please go to our A-Z Databases page

Places to Start

America: History & Life with Full Text This link opens in a new window America: History & Life with Full Text is the definitive database of literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to the present. With selective selective indexing for 1,700 journals from 1955 to present, this database is without question the most important bibliographic reference tool for students and scholars of U.S. and Canadian history.
Historical Abstracts (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window Historical Abstracts is an exceptional resource that covers the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present, including world history, military history, women's history, history of education, and more - essential for libraries supporting upper-division and graduate research. This authoritative database provides indexing of more than 2,300 academic historical journals in over 40 languages back to 1955. History and social science researchers have used Historical Abstracts to discover significant and groundbreaking work for more than 50 years.
MasterFILE Premier This link opens in a new window Designed specifically for public libraries, this multidisciplinary database provides full text for nearly 1,700 periodicals with full-text information dating as far back as 1975. Covering virtually every subject area of general interest, MasterFILE Premier also contains full text for nearly 500 reference books and over 164,400 primary source documents, as well as an Image Collection of over 592,000 photos, maps & flags. This database is updated daily via EBSCOhost.

Articles, Books, Dissertations

OpenDissertations This link opens in a new window OpenDissertations is an open-access database built to assist researchers in locating both historic and contemporary dissertations and theses. It incorporates EBSCO’s previously released American Doctoral Dissertations, and features additional dissertation metadata contributed by select colleges and universities from around the world. Providing researchers with citations to graduate research from the early 20th century to the present, this database will continue to grow through regular updates and new partnerships with graduate degree-granting institutions.
CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window CQ Researcher is often the first source that librarians recommend when researchers are seeking original, comprehensive reporting and analysis on issues in the news. Founded in 1923 as Editorial Research Reports, CQ Researcher is noted for its in-depth, unbiased coverage of health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the economy.
De Gruyter Open Access Books This link opens in a new window This multi-disciplinary database from De Gruyter Publishers provides over 900 open access e-books. Users can search for books and filter results by subject, date, and more.
Dissertations & Theses at Marshall This link opens in a new window This database gives access to the dissertations and theses produced by students at Marshall University
Dissertations & Theses Global (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window This database is the world’s most comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses from around the world, spanning from 1743 to the present day and offering full text for graduate works added since 1997, along with selected full text for works written prior to 1997.
eBooks on EBSCO This link opens in a new window Our EBSCO e-book collection in partnership with PALCI consortium consists of more than 200,000 items from Academic, Business, Community College, Engineering, History, Medical, Public Library, Religion, and University Press collections available on EBSCO's dedicated E-book Collection interface. These collections are also searchable as part of the regular EBSCOhost databases platform. Access is easy and most e-books can be downloaded to portable devices. For more information see: EBSCO eBooks.
GeoRef This link opens in a new window The GeoRef database, established by the American Geosciences Institute (AGI) in 1966, provides access to the most comprehensive geoscience literature of the world. GeoRef contains millions of references to geoscience maps, serial, and non-serial literature. The database includes references to all publications of the U.S. Geological Survey. Master's theses and doctoral dissertations from US and Canadian universities are also covered. Coverage for North American resources starts in 1669, whereas worldwide coverage starts in 1933.
GreenFILE This link opens in a new window GreenFILE offers well-researched information covering all aspects of human impact to the environment. Its collection of scholarly, government and general-interest titles includes content on global warming, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more. The database provides indexing and abstracts for more than 384,000 records, as well as Open Access full text for more than 4,700 records. Provided by the WV Library Commission.
Newspaper Source This link opens in a new window Newspaper Source provides cover-to-cover full text for more than 40 (U.S.) & international newspapers. The database also contains selective full text for 389 regional (U.S.) newspapers. In addition, full text television & radio news transcripts are also provided. Provided by the WV Library Commission.
Philadelphia Inquirer Archive (1860-2001) This link opens in a new window Archive of Philadelphia Inquirer provides searchable PDF content that spans nearly 150 years. Forthcoming later in 2017, coverage will expand to include 1929-2009.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Archive (1786-2003) This link opens in a new window Full-text, pdf easily searchable archive of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette provides coverage from 1786-2006. Forthcoming later in 2017, coverage will expand to 1786-2008.
ProQuest Ebook Central™ This link opens in a new window Credible content from authoritative, scholarly sources. Ebook Central delivers, with breadth and depth of ebooks from scholarly sources, including University Presses and other top publishers. Our Ebrary Business & Economics - Legacy Collection now resides on this platform. How to access e-books.
Credible content from authoritative, scholarly sources. Ebook Central delivers, with breadth and depth of ebooks from scholarly sources, including University Presses and other top publishers. Our Ebrary Business & Economics - Legacy Collection now resides on this platform.
Statista This link opens in a new window Statista is a statistical database that draws more that 1 million statistics from over 18,000 sources. Dossiers, reports, and infographics are included. Categorized into 21 market sectors, Statista.com provides companies, business customers, research institutions, and the academic community with direct access to quantitative data on media, business, finance, politics, and a wide variety of other areas of interest or markets.
Time Magazine Archive This link opens in a new window Time Magazine Archive presents an extensive collection of the prominent weekly news magazine dating back to its first issue in March 1923 through December 2000, presented in a comprehensive cover-to-cover format.
TOPICsearch This link opens in a new window TOPICsearch contains full text for over 150,961 articles from 475 diverse sources including international and regional newspapers, EBSCO's unparalleled collection of periodicals, biographies, public opinion polls, book reviews, pamphlets, and government information.

Government Documents

GovInfo This link opens in a new window GovInfo (formerly known as FDSys Federal Digital System) provides free U.S. Government information for all. It is a service of the United States Government Publishing Office (GPO), which is a Federal agency in the legislative branch. GovInfo provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government.
MarciveWeb DOCS This link opens in a new window MarciveWeb DOCS database is the most comprehensive GPO database on the web. It’s updated weekly and contains full records back to 1976. Beginning with the September 2010 update, records from the GPO Historic Shelflist began to be added.
Military & Government Collection This link opens in a new window Designed to offer current news pertaining to all branches of the military and government, this database offers a thorough collection of periodicals, academic journals, and other content pertinent to the increasing needs of those sites. The Military & Government Collection provides cover-to-cover full text for nearly 300 journals and periodicals and indexing and abstracts for more than 400 titles.

Reference Materials

Gale Databases This link opens in a new window Comprehensive collection of all Gale online reference sources including literary collections, and reference e-books.
Gale eBooks (GVRL) This link opens in a new window Gale eBooks (formerly known as Gale Virtual Reference Library) is a collection of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources with coverage in major subject areas.
Credo Reference This link opens in a new window Now offering more than 800 highly regarded reference titles from over 80 publishers, Credo Reference covers every major subject and also provides Topic Pages as a starting point for researchers.
Points of View Reference Source This link opens in a new window Points of View Reference Center (Ebsco) is an interface intended for public, academic, and high school libraries. Points of View is designed to assist researchers in understanding the full scope of controversial subjects. High school and undergraduate students can use Points of View as a guide to debating, developing arguments, writing position papers, and developing critical thinking skills. Each Points of View Essay includes a series of questions and additional material to generate further thought. Also included are thousands of supporting articles from the world’s top political and societal publications. The Points of View Debate Blog is a forum for students to express and exchange their unique views on topics in the news.
e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia This link opens in a new window The West Virginia Encyclopedia is the comprehensive reference resource for the Mountain State of West Virginia. Based on the best-selling West Virginia Encyclopedia, e-WV offers thousands of articles on West Virginia’s people and places, history, arts, science and culture. e-WV is a project of the West Virginia Humanities Council.
Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia This link opens in a new window This database provides over 25,000 encyclopedic entries covering a variety of subject areas. Provided by the WV Library Commission.
WorldCat This link opens in a new window WorldCat is the world's largest network of library content and services. WorldCat libraries are dedicated to providing access to their resources on the Web, where most people start their search for information.

Indexes

Images & Video

ARTstor This link opens in a new window ARTstor is a digital library currently containing over one million images in the areas of art, architecture, the humanities, and social sciences with a set of tools to view, present, and manage images for research and teaching purposes. This collection chronicles artistic traditions across many times and cultures and embraces architecture, painting, sculpture, photography, decorative arts, and design, and numerous other forms of visual culture. Use this link to access ARTstor using your personal account login.: http://library.artstor.org

Primary Source Materials

ArchiveGrid This link opens in a new window ArchiveGrid includes over 7 million records from archival collections held by thousands of libraries, museums, and historical societies that bring together information about historical documents, personal papers, family histories, and more.
Marshall University Special Collections Online Database This link opens in a new window This index provides information about thousands of the documents, images, manuscripts, and other media available through the Marshall University Special Collections. The collection focuses on the history of Marshall University, Huntington, the state of West Virginia, and the surrounding Appalachian region. This collection is updated regularly and is a great starting point for primary source materials.
Marshall Digital Scholar (MDS) This link opens in a new window Marshall Digital Scholar serves to collect, preserve, and provide global access to the scholarly and creative work of faculty, students, and alumni of Marshall University, as well as university publications, images, recordings, archives, and special collections, in order to promote discovery, research, and collaboration across disciplines and institutions.
Includes Marshall University students' theses and dissertations.

Featured History Journals

Contact Me!

Lori Thompson

Email Me

Contact:

Special Collections Department
James E. Morrow Library Rm 211

thompson39@marshall.edu

304-696-6611

Subjects: History