Articles and Databases
Search the following databases to find relevant journal, magazine, and newspaper articles. To see our full list of databases, see the Databases A-Z list.
- SocINDEX with Full TextSocINDEX with Full Text is the world's most comprehensive and highest quality sociology research database. The database features more than 2.1 million records with subject headings from a 20,000+ term sociological thesaurus designed by subject experts and expert lexicographers.
- FusionFusion allows you to search, in one place, the majority of the library’s books, articles, videos, etc. It includes all the materials in our library catalog Ignacio, as well as the content of the majority of our many databases.
- JSTORFull text of older issues of journals. Access includes Arts & Sciences I-XV, Business I Collection, Health & General Sciences Collection, and the Life Sciences Collection.
- Communication SourceDeveloped from a merger of the EBSCO databases Communication and Mass Media Complete and Communication Abstracts (formerly published by Sage), this is the premier research database for Communication Studies. This comprehensive resource offers worldwide full-text content pertaining to communication, linguistics, rhetoric and discourse, speech-language pathology, media studies and related fields and includes many unique sources previously not available.
- America: History and LifeAmerica: History and Life is the definitive index of literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to the present. With indexing for 1,700 journals from as far back as 1910, this database is without question the most important bibliographic reference tool for students and scholars of U.S. and Canadian history.
- Education SourceEducation Source is designed to meet the needs of education students, professionals and policy makers. The collection includes full text for more than 1,700 journals, 550 books and monographs, education-related conference papers, citations for over 4 million articles including book reviews and over 100,000 controlled and cross-referenced names of educational tests.
- APA PsycInfoAPA PsycInfo is the American Psychological Association's renowned resource for abstracts of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations. It is the largest resource devoted to peer-reviewed literature in behavioral science and mental health, and contains over 3 million citations and summaries dating as far back as the 1600s, with one of the highest DOI matching rates in the publishing industry. Ninety-nine percent of its content is peer-reviewed. Formerly called PsycINFO.
- Chicano DatabaseChicano Database includes over 67,000 records from more than 2,400 journals and other resources including newspapers, books and book chapters. The database provides coverage dating back to the 1960s and selective indexing dating back to the early 1900s. Subject coverage includes art, bilingual education, education, labor, literature, mental health, law, poetry, politics and sociology.
- Ethnic NewsWatchEthnic NewsWatch covers 1990 to present and includes newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic and minority press, providing researchers access to essential, often overlooked perspectives. The publications offer both national and regional coverage
- African American Newspapers 1827-1998African American Newspapers 1827-1998 provides online access to more than 350 U.S. newspapers published by or for African Americans, chronicling a century and a half of the African American experience. This unique collection, which includes historically significant papers from more than 35 states, features many rare 19th-century titles.
- ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Defender1909 - 2010. A leading African-American newspaper, with more than two-thirds of its readership outside Chicago. It offers primary source material essential to the study of American history and African-American culture, history, politics, and the arts.
- Google ScholarArticles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other web sites. Click "more" below to customize Google Scholar to access USF library journal subscriptions.
- ProQuest Dissertations & Theses GlobalThe most comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses from around the world, offering millions of works from thousands of universities. Full-text coverage spans from 1743 to the present, with citation coverage dating back to 1637.
Database Search Tips
- Use Boolean operators connect your search words together to either narrow or broaden your set of results. The two basic boolean operators are: AND and OR.
- AND narrows your search and tells the database that ALL search terms must be present in the resulting records.
Example: racially mixed people AND media - OR broadens your search and increases your results, telling the database that ANY of your search terms can be present in the resulting records.
Example: racially mixed people OR biracial OR multiracial OR mixed race OR mixed descent
- AND narrows your search and tells the database that ALL search terms must be present in the resulting records.
- Use database “limit” options as needed. Most databases offer these options to limit your results:
- to scholarly (peer-reviewed) journals
- by source type (magazines, newspapers, academic journals)
- by language (e.g., English)
- Broaden a search by using a truncation symbol with a search term. Most databases use the (*) symbol. For example, educa* retrieves educate, educates, educated, educating, and education.
- Use quotes around search words to force exact phrase searching. Example: "mixed race"
Find Full-Text
If the full-text of an article is not available, click on to check options for finding the full-text, including requesting the article via Interlibrary Loan. Learn how to use in this short video tutorial.
Alternatively, you check if USF owns the journal by searching the Journal Finder by journal name. Learn how to use Journal Finder in this short video tutorial.
Find Articles Not at USF
If the library doesn't have access to the journal article you want, you can still get it through Interlibrary Loan. Use Illiad to request your items online. You may receive your item in anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks. Be sure to start your research early!
This guide was first curated with care by Sherise Kimura, and is currently maintained by Nicky Andrews.