Research guides: English Language & Literature: Articles

Article databases

Recommended databases

MLA International Bibliography
Indexes books, articles, and websites relating to modern languages, literatures, folklore, linguistics, and film.
Coverage: 1926 - present
Project MUSE
Scholarly journals covering the fields of literature and criticism, history, the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, education, political science, gender studies, and more.
Coverage: varies
Literature Online (LION)
Full text journal articles and other criticism and reference resources on works relating to English and American literature, and early Canadian poetry.
Coverage: 8th century - present
Communication and Mass Media Complete
Articles, books, and conference proceedings in the communications field, including advertising and public relations, linguistics, and literature.
Coverage: 1900 - present
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CMMC offers full text and cover-to-cover indexing and abstracts for journals covering communication, mass media, linguistics, discourse, rhetoric, sociolinguistics, communication theory, language, logic, organizational communication and other closely related fields of study. This resource incorporates the content of CommSearch (formerly produced by the National Communication Association) and Mass Media Articles Index (formerly produced by Penn State) along with numerous other top journals in communication and media studies.
Literature Resource Center
Biographical entries, overviews, full-text literary criticism, and reviews of writers in all disciplines, from all time periods and from around the world. A GALE product.
Coverage: 1750s - present
Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA)
Indexes journal articles, books, technical reports, and dissertations covering all aspects of the study of language including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics.
Coverage: 1973 - present
JSTOR
Provides access to back issues of journals in the humanities, social sciences, and physical sciences, many of which date from the 1800s.
Coverage: varies (excludes current 3 to 5 years)
Humanities & Social Sciences Retrospective
Indexes nearly 1200 periodicals, including many of the most important scholarly journals published in North America and Europe.
Coverage: 1907 - 1984
Scopus
Peer-reviewed literature from scientific journals, books and conference proceedings, covering the fields of science, technology, medicine, social sciences, and arts and humanities.
Coverage: 1966 - present
Web of Science
Articles and citations in the sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities.
Coverage: Varies
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Web of Science is comprised of several databases. The Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI) covers journals in the medical, physical and natural sciences, and engineering fields. The entire database extends back to 1899. The Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) covers journals in the social sciences. The entire database extends back to 1898. The Arts & Humanities Citation Index (AHCI) covers journals in the arts and humanities. It also selectively covers relevant items from science and technical journals. The entire database extends back to 1975.

See the Library's comprehensive list of research databases relevant to studies in English Language and Literature.

Additional research databases

Internet Shakespeare Editions
Searchable databases covering the poems and plays, life and times, and performances of Shakespeare.
American Periodicals Series Online
A digital archive of general interest magazines, literary and professional journals, children's and women's magazines and other periodicals.
Coverage: 1740 - 1940
British and Irish Women's Letters and Diaries
Full text of works from of over 400 women. Coverage also includes biographies and an extensive annotated bibliography.
Coverage: 1500 - 1950
Canadiana
Find documents from 1st European contact to recent student activism, including items relating to Indigenous-settler relations, cookbooks, women's writings, and more.
Coverage: Pre-1970
ITER
Indexes articles, books, reviews, catalogues, and conference proceedings about the Middle Ages and Renaissance (400-1700).
Coverage: 1945 - present
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Iter, meaning 'a journey' or 'a path' in Latin, is a non-profit research project with partners in Toronto (the headquarters), New York City, and Tempe, Arizona. The goal of Iter is to increase access to all published materials pertaining to the Middle Ages and Renaissance (400-1700) through the creation of online bibliographic databases. Iter has been made available through the Ontario Scholars Portal collection of databases. The Journals database is an electronic bibliography of interdisciplinary journal literature pertaining to the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Citations for articles, bibliographies, catalogues, abstracts and discographies are included. To date, the full runs of 518 scholarly journal titles, published since 1853, have been indexed. Journals and essay collections indexed Subject access to selected materials pertaining to the Renaissance (1300-1700), published since 1990, is available via Library of Congress Subject Headings
World Shakespeare Bibliography
Shakespeare-related scholarship and theatrical productions published or produced worldwide between 1960 and the present time.
Coverage: 1960 - present
Science Fiction and Fantasy Research Database
An index with some full text covering all aspects of science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural and weird fiction. History, criticism, commentary, fan writings and some reviews are all included.
Coverage: 1878 - present
Theatre Performance and Design Collection
Covers all aspects of theatre from production and design to performance, including, set design, lighting design, sound design, costume design, makeup. Video collections include the National Theatre Collection, Royal Shakespeare Company, Theatre in Video 1-2
Coverage: 17th century - present
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Includes video performances, audio dramas, and designs. It combines content types used in theatre education (filmed stage performances, masterclasses, documentaries) with teaching tools (playlists, video clips, on-screen transcripts), and production designs. The collection includes: * 300 audio plays from L.A. Theatre Works * 750 hours of filmed stage performances, documentaries, and video training materials, including 25 premium performances of plays and musicals from the New York theatre scene * 100,000 pages of primary and secondary design resources, including sketches, photographs, technical drawings, monographs, articles, and dissertations * 40,000 pages of monumental reference works, encyclopedias, images, flyers, playbills, postcards, scrapbooks, and other resources.

How can I tell If an article is peer-reviewed?

Peer-reviewed articles may also be called “scholarly articles,” “academic articles,” or “referreed articles.” They are articles that have been reviewed by peers or experts in the author’s field of research/study.

To learn if an article is peer-reviewed...

Search for the journal the article appears in within Ulrichsweb Global Serials Directory
If the journal is listed as “referreed” in Ulrich’s (it would have this referree image: ), it is a peer-reviewed journal

Besides checking Ulrich's, here are some clues that an article is peer-reviewed:

It's long. Generally peer-reviewed articles are at least 10 pages long
It references other research articles and contains extensive footnotes/endnotes
It doesn't have glossy pictures or advertisements
It contains additional author information, such as the author's contact information and scholarly credentials
It is published by an academic publisher or academic/professional association

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