Research & Writing Tutors
Research Librarian
What Is a Database?
A database allows you to search through a vast collection of journal, magazine, and newspaper articles, as well as essays in books and conference papers. You may search by topic, author, or article title.
Some databases are "full-text" (i.e. provide the entire text of the article), some are "indexes" only, also called "bibliographic" (i.e. point you to the source of your article without providing its text), and some are a mix of the two.
Databases
- Philosopher's Index This link opens in a new windowJournal articles, books, book chapters, and book reviews in philosophy. Covers materials published 1940-present.
- ATLA Religion Database Plus This link opens in a new windowScholarly journal articles, book chapters, and book reviews in religion and theology. Provides some full text. Covers materials published 1949-present, with some coverage extending back to the nineteenth century.
- PsycINFO This link opens in a new windowScholarly journal articles, books, book chapters, dissertations, and other materials in the psychological, social, behavioral, and health sciences. Covers materials published 1806-present.
- Dictionary of Literary Biography This link opens in a new windowFull-text author biographies with critical overviews of major works plus lists of secondary sources for further research. Discusses literary authors working across genres and historical periods (classical to contemporary). Covers criticism published 1978-present.
- Literature Criticism Online This link opens in a new windowA collection of online reference works in literary studies: Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism, Contemporary Literary Criticism, Drama Criticism, Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800, Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism, Poetry Criticism, Shakespearean Criticism, Short Story Criticism, and Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism.
Journal Storage
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowFull-text scholarly journals articles in many disciplines. Dates of coverage vary by title, typically from the journal's first issue (sometimes in the eighteenth century or earlier) through about five years ago.
- Project MUSE This link opens in a new windowFull-text scholarly journal articles in the humanities and social sciences.
General Databases
- ProQuest Research Library This link opens in a new windowArticles on virtually every topic, drawn from scholarly journals, professional journals, trade magazines, news publications, and lifestyle magazines. Includes 5,000 titles - over 3,500 in full text. Covers materials published 1971-present.
- Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new windowArticles on virtually every topic, drawn from scholarly journals, professional journals, trade magazines, news publications, and lifestyle magazines. Provides full-text access to over half of its 8000+ publications. Covers materials published 1975-present.
Off-Campus Access
To access library resources (e.g.online indexes, databases, and e-journals) from off-campus please follow instructions below:
- Off Campus AccessWhen you access the resource, you will be prompted for your St. Olaf login and password (same as your St. Olaf e-mail account). Once you enter this information you will be able to access library resources as if you were on-campus.