Choose a database

The most efficient way to search for articles on your topic is to use one of the many electronic databases or print indexes. Databases and indexes contain references to articles in magazines, newspapers, and/or journals (scholarly periodicals).

General Databases (Multi-disciplinary) are good for a variety of subjects and generally serve as an excellent starting point for research. They include magazine, journal, and newspaper articles.

Examples:

• Academic Search Premier
• MasterFile Elite
• LexisNexis Academic (Newspapers)
  

Specialized or Subject-Specific Databases index articles published in the journal literature of a specific field like nursing, psychology, sociology, etc. These databases contain peer-reviewed articles and are geared to scholars in the field. For many of your classes, you may be required to use scholarly sources found in specialized databases.

Examples:

• PsycINFO (Psychology topics)
• Sociological Abstracts (Sociology topics)
• ERIC (Education topics)
• MLA (Literary criticism)
• America: History and Life (American History topics)
• Historical Abstracts (World history topics)
• ABI Inform (Business)

Begin your search for articles by selecting Search for Articles on a Topic on the MU Libraries gateway. You can select a databases from the alphabetical list or from the subject list. The Alphabetical list of databases includes both general and specialized databases. Select a Subject area to identify databases for that subject.

If you have trouble finding the right database for your topic, consult a librarian.