Spring 2009
Searching the Journal Literture
Historical Abstracts
Covers the history of the world excluding North America from the historical period 1450 on; includes citations and abstracts of articles, reviews, and dissertations published from 1954 to present. Currently over 2,000 journals published throughout the world are covered in the database.
- Often includes English-language abstracts for articles in other languages. Sometimes these abstracts can be useful. Take care to note the language before ordering.
- Start with a broad keyword search. Use your results to guide further searches.
- Use subject searching to make your search more precise.
- Use "OR" with synonyms to make your search broader. Use "AND" to connect terms and make your search narrower.
- Consider using limits (eg. language, publication type) as appropriate.
Bibliography of Asian Studies
This online bibliography references principally western-language articles and book chapters on all parts of Asia published since 1971.
- Often more comprehensive for English-language materials about Asia than Historical Abstracts.
- Non-English language material not covered.
- Does not include abstracts.
- Useful when you know the names of some important scholars on your topic.
JSTOR
JSTOR is a non-profit organization that exists to provide an archive of the most important journal articles in a number of disciplines.
- Remember the "moving wall".
- Note that it lacks subject/descriptor searching.
- Don't forget that the advanced search will allow you to limit your search. Very useful when you're looking for (or to exclude) a particular publication type (eg. book reviews).
Remember, there are many, many more databases available to history scholars at Reed. Don't forget to check out the resources on the more general History Subject Page.
Getting the article
Library research can be confusing with its patchwork of different interfaces and databases, each with its own quirks. The simple mechanics of actually getting your hands on the text of a journal article can be puzzling. The databases you search might include the full text of the indexed articles or not or may have just spotty full text. The single most important thing to remember is that with the citation in hand, you can likely get the article. Fortunately, we do have a new library service that can help you navigate from many library databases to the source of the article you're looking for.
From the citation you're interested in, click on "Check Reed for fulltext." A pop-up window will display links for the article if it is available in a Reed e-journal.
If ArticleLinker doesn't locate your article, the pop-up window will give you other options for searching the library catalog or other choices listed below:
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Check Reed's Print & Electronic Journals page. This page will link you to journals in the print collection and to individual journal titles included in the many electronic collections that Reed subscribes to.
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If the article is not available in print or electronic form at the Reed library, your next step is to request the article through the Interlibrary Loan service (ILL). You will receive an e-mail from the Interlibrary Loan service when your article is available. Electronic delivery is the norm. Delivery time for journal articles ranges from a few days to up to 3 weeks, and delays are more likely during busy times of the semester. Be forewarned, and order articles early if at all possible.
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If all else fails, or if you're just confused, give me a call!
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