First-Year Writing Seminar

Journal Articles

Finding Sources in Databases

Scholarly, peer-reviewed articles are published in journals. Researchers use databases to search hundreds or even thousands of journals at one time. Some databases search journals in a large range of subjects, and some databases search journals only within one subject. BC subscribes to over 800 databases that you can use to find journal articles.

There are three main kinds of databases:

General Databases are broad. They include different types of sources (books, articles, films, etc) on various different topics and in different disciplines.
Subject Specific Databases help you narrow into a subject area. They focus on one or related disciplines.
Source Specific Databases help you access one kind of source. Some databases contain just images or just newspapers for example.

General Databases

Academic OneFile
Articles in journals, magazines, newspapers, and other formats. Covers the physical sciences, technology, medicine, social sciences, the arts, theology, and literature.
JSTOR
A collection of scholarly books and journals across disciplines.
Google Scholar
Searches across many disciplines and sources: peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations.
Google Scholar provides links to resources at Boston College. To set up these links, go to Settings and enter Boston College in the Library Links area.

Selected Subject Databases

Black Studies Center
Black Studies Center brings together essential historical and current material for researching the past, present and future of African-Americans, the wider African Diaspora, and Africa itself.
Business Source Complete
Articles from peer reviewed journals and business periodicals, company reports, industry reports, market research reports, company profiles, and cases.
Communication Abstracts/Communication & Mass Media Complete
Provides combined searching of the two major communication studies databases, including abstracts of articles, reports, and books from a variety of scholarly, trade, and professional publishers.
Education Source
Education Source covers areas of curriculum instruction as well as administration, policy, funding, and related social issues. Topics covered include all levels of education from early childhood to higher education, and all educational specialties, such as multilingual education, health education, and testing.
LGBTQ+ Source
LGBTQ+ Source provides comprehensive coverage of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies.
MLA International Bibliography
The MLA International Bibliography is a subject index for books, articles and websites published on modern languages, literatures, folklore, and linguistics.
ProQuest Political Science
Provides access to leading political science and international relations journals. This collection covers such topics as comparative politics, political economy, international development, environmental policy, and hundreds of related topics.
ProQuest Sociology
ProQuest Sociology gives users access to the full-text of more than 180 journals in sociology and social work. This collection covers the international literature of both disciplines, including culture and social structure, history and theory of sociology, social psychology, substance abuse and addiction, and more.
PsycINFO 1840-current
The database provides abstracts and citations to the scholarly literature in the behavioral sciences and mental health. The online resource includes material of relevance to psychologists and professionals in related fields such as psychiatry, management, business, education, social science, neuroscience, law, medicine, and social work.
SPORTDiscus (SPORT Discus)
This international database covers sports medicine, exercise physiology, biomechanics, psychology, training techniques, coaching, physical education, physical fitness, active living, recreation, history, facilities and equipment.
Statista
Statistics, consumer survey results, and industry studies from media, business, finance, politics, and more.

More subject databases

O'Neill Library

Bapst Library

Burns Library

Educational Resource Center

Law Library

Social Work Library

Theology & Ministry Library

O'Connor Library

Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies

First-Year Writing Seminar

Journal Articles

Finding Sources in Databases

General Databases

Selected Subject Databases