Scholarly v. Popular
- Anatomy of a Scholarly ArticleInteractive display of the key elements of a scholarly journal article.
- Here is a short video explaining PEER REVIEW.
Los Angeles Public Library
Not all articles are available in databases that UCLA subscribes to. The Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) has over 250 databases available to anyone with an LAPL library card. You can get an ECARD online-no need to go to a library.
The most useful database to try searching is Research Library (ProQuest), which UCLA does not subscribe to. It has some online journals not at UCLA.
Databases that Index Journal Articles
This is a very select list of available article databases. If you want to look for others, go to this page and click through to your discipline (political science, sociology, history, etc.). Here you will find a selection of the most useful databases for each discipline listed.
is your link to full-text! Note that some sources only index journal articles—they don't actually have the full text.
- Use the button to find the full text or search for the journal title in the UCLA Library Catalog.
- Request the article through interlibrary loan if UCLA does not own the full text.
UCLA also subscribes to many newspaper databases, both current and historical. See the research guide for News to get links to them.
For more tips, see our guide on database searching.
- Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new windowA multidisciplinary database that indexes over 10,000 publications, with the complete text of over 5,500 periodicals, including a mix of peer-reviewed journals, magazines, and newspapers.
- America: History & Life This link opens in a new windowHistorical coverage of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. Indexes articles from over 1,700 history journals published worldwide since 1964.
- Black Studies Periodicals Database This link opens in a new windowIndexes both scholarly and popular press journals, newspapers, and newsletters from the United States, Africa and the Caribbean. Coverage is international in scope and multidisciplinary, including cultural, economic, historical, religious, social, and political issues. Formerly titled International Index to Black Periodicals (IIPA).
- Chicano Database This link opens in a new windowBibliographic materials on Mexican-American topics 1967 to the present. Scope expanded in 1992 to include the broader Latinx experience, including Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans, and Central American immigrants. Includes the Spanish Speaking Mental Health Database.
- Contemporary Women's Issues This link opens in a new windowComprehensive coverage of issues that influence women’s lives across the globe on topics including civil rights, health, education, professional development, and entrepreneurship. Full-text access to journals, newsletters, and research reports from non-profit groups, government and international agencies. Information on women internationally includes cross-disciplinary methodology.
- Ethnic NewsWatch This link opens in a new window
Complete text of articles from 1959 to the present from publications of the ethnic, minority, and native press. Covers news, culture, and history, and is searchable in both English and Spanish.
- GenderWatch This link opens in a new window
Full text publications focusing on the impact of gender across multiple subject areas. Include scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, regional publications, books, and more.
- Los Angeles Times This link opens in a new window
Full text (no ads or pictures) from 1985 to the present. For access to older issues, see ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Los Angeles Times [1881-1995].
- Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Indexes the international literature in sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences from 1,800+ serials publications; also provides abstracts of books, book chapters, dissertations, and conference papers. Coverage from 1952-present.
- Women's Studies International This link opens in a new window
Provides access to citations for a wide range of topics in the study of women and gender, 1972-present.
Searching for Articles in Journals
There are several ways to search for journal articles. You can start with UC Library Search, using the Articles, Books and more option, which searches all the databases the UCLA Library subscribes to. Or you can go to a specific database, such as APA PsycINFO, Academic Search Complete, PubMed, etc.
In either case, start with a keyword search using words relevant to your topic. When you see some articles that look interesting, click on the title to see the complete citation. If there are subject terms or descriptors, click on those that seem related to your topic to get other articles on the subject.