Subject Librarian
Databases and Indexes on Southeast Asia
- Asia-Studies Full-Text OnlineSelect "External Content Only" radio button to gain full-text access to open access articles about Asia.
- South and Southeast Asian Literature in English
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This collection showcases the literary imagination and linguistic inventiveness of South and Southeast Asian writers as they negotiate their varied cultural identities. Encompassing English-language fiction, short fiction, and poems written from the end of the colonial era to the present, it provides rich insights to scholars of literature, anthropology, linguistics, postcolonial theory and criticism, history, politics, and culture. - DOAJ : Directory of Open Access JournalsContains more than 2000 Indonesian journal titles, more than 100 Malaysian journal titles, and smaller numbers of journal titles from Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines.
- Computerized Index to Philippine Periodical Articles (CIPPA) This link opens in a new window
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For the Philippines.
- ScholarBank@NUSThe institutional repository of the National University of Singapore provides open access to many of the publications produced by their research scholars. Most of the publications were released after 1990, but there are a smaller number of them dating back into the 1950s.
- Southeast Asia in the Ming Shi-luThis database supplies English-language translations of Classical Chinese annals concerning Southeast Asia during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
- Journal Index (Thammasat University Libraries)Index of e-journal articles accessible at a major university in Thailand.
Journal Databases and Indexes
Here are some databases and indexes that should be useful in finding articles on this region. These resources are licensed so you may need to configure your computer to connect from off-campus.
- Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
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A scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 5,500 full-text periodicals and indexing and abstracts for more than 9,500 journals. - Anthropology Plus This link opens in a new window
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Indexes journal articles, reports, commentaries, etc. in the fields of social, cultural, physical, biological, and linguistic anthropology, ethnology, archaeology, folklore, material culture, and interdisciplinary studies. - ATLA Religion Database This link opens in a new window
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Index to journal articles, book reviews, and collections of essays in all scholarly fields of religion; includes articles written in 36 languages. - Bibliography of Asian Studies (BAS) This link opens in a new window
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Contains citations to articles, monographs, chapters, conference proceedings, anthologies, etc., pertaining to East, Southeast, and South Asia, published from 1971 to the present. - eHRAF Collection of Archaeology This link opens in a new window
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Full text, indexed collections of documents on archaeological traditions, subtraditions, and important sites worldwide, from Human Relations Area Files, Inc. - Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new window
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Index and abstracts for articles on the history of the world from 1450 to the present (excluding the United States and Canada, which are covered in America: History and Life) published since 1955.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new window
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Full text back issues of core scholarly journals, browsable and searchable across multiple disciplines. Coverage starts with first issue, with moving wall for most recent 3-5 years. UCLA has access to selected JSTOR e-books only. JSTOR also includes primary source collections, including images from Artstor.
- MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
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Indexes worldwide publications on literature, language, linguistics, folklore, film, television, and theater from 1923 to the present. See also the MLA Directory of Periodicals. - PAIS Index This link opens in a new window
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International coverage of articles, books, conference proceedings, and government documents on social and political policy, political science, public administration, current affairs, and related topics from 1972 to the present. Includes PAIS Archive, which covers 1915 to 1976.
- Project MUSE This link opens in a new window
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Full text of current issues (from about 1990) of scholarly journals published by university presses, chiefly in the arts, humanities and social sciences. Browsable by discipline and full-text searchable across all disciplines. UCLA has access to Muse e-books published from 2017-present, plus a selected number of other e-book titles.
- Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new window
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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.
- Web of Science This link opens in a new window
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A multidisciplinary database, with searchable author abstracts, covering the journal literature of most disciplines. Indexes major journals with all cited references captured. Combines the following citation databases: Science Citation Index Expanded; Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI); Arts & Humanities Citation Index (A&HCI); Conference Proceedings Citation Index.
- Women's Studies International This link opens in a new window
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Provides access to citations for a wide range of topics in the study of women and gender, 1972-present.
- Worldwide Political Science Abstracts This link opens in a new window
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Citations, abstracts, and indexing of the international literature in political science, international relations, law, and public policy.
How to Find and Evaluate Articles
The UCLA Library subscribes to thousands of periodicals (magazines, journals, newspapers--items that are published at intervals with no end in sight). These periodicals may be in print, online, or both. Online periodicals may be part of broader article databases. Articles are great resources for research. Before beginning your research:
- Know the difference: Scholarly vs. Popular Articles.
- Learn how to evaluate journal articles.
Finding Journals
If you know already know the name of the journal, search for it in UC Library Search. Type the journal title in the search box. Skip any initial articles at the beginning of the journal title (e.g., A, An, The). Select UCLA Library Catalog (excluding articles) in the dropdown menu on the right-hand side of the search box. Go to Resource Type in the column on the left-hand side of the screen. Scroll down to and click on Journals. The resulting catalog record will give you the call number and location of print journals and/or provide links to the online version. If the UCLA Library does not own the journal, you may borrow it through interlibrary loan.
Finding Articles
If you already have the title of a specific article, search for the journal title first (see above instructions).
Searching Databases
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.
Some tips:
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.
For more tips, see our guide on database searching.
Selected Journals on Southeast Asia
- ASEAN Economic BulletinPublishes articles, short papers, and reviews on the economics and political economy of ASEAN and its member countries. Provides documentation on ASEAN economic development and co-operation, and on research activities relating to the Asia-Pacific region.
- Asian EthnicityThis journal publishes research reports on ethnicity, ethnology, and ethnic relations throughout greater Asia. Southeast Asia is well represented.
- Austrian Journal of South-East Asian StudiesThis open access scholarly journal is published by the Society for South-East Asian Studies, which is based in Vienna. Many articles are in English; a smaller number are in German.
- Contemporary Southeast Asia: A Journal of International and Strategic AffairsCurrently focuses on domestic politics, international affairs, and regional security.
- Crossroads: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Southeast Asian StudiesThough the final issue is being published in 2009, this journal has provided 26 years of solid scholarly articles on a great range of Southeast Asian topics.
- Indonesia / Southeast Asia Project, Cornell UniversityPublished since 1966, this semi-annual journal is devoted to contemporary analysis of Indonesia's culture, history, government, economy, and society.
- Journal of Lao StudiesAvailable articles only. Many of the articles are in English.
- Journal of Southeast Asian EconomiesProvides articles on economic history, economic conditions, and economic policy for the countries in Southeast Asia.
- Journal of Southeast Asian StudiesA key scholarly journal on Southeast Asia that covers a wide range of academic disciplines in the humanities and social sciences.
- Kampuchea Sorya / Buddhist InstituteKhmer religious and literary journal. In Khmer.
- Liwanag at Dilim 2023Online magazine published by intermediate students of the Filipino language from the U.S. and the Philippines. Articles cover Philippine language, literature, identity, cultural heritage, AI, and ChatGPT.
- Regional Outlook: Southeast AsiaProvides a brief analysis of current political and economic trends in Southeast Asian countries, as well as the outlook for the next two years.
- South East Asia ResearchPublishes articles based on original research or fieldwork on all aspects of South East Asia within the disciplines of archaeology, art history, economics, geography, history, language and literature, law, music, political science, social anthropology and religious studies.
- Southeast Asian AffairsAn annual review of significant trends and developments in the region, providing analyses of major political, strategic, economic and social developments.
Recommend a Journal?
Is there a journal that you think the library should have? You can suggest a purchase here.