Subject Guide
Which Database Should I Choose?
Often when your topic is about contemporary issues or debates, it's best to search broadly across disciplines. In these cases, QuickSearch is usually your best bet.
QuickSearch is also how to find books at Monroe Library, both print copies and ebooks.
However, if your research is about literature, MLA Bibliography is a great choice. This database specializes in collecting journal articles and book chapters about literature in English and many other languages. Search for articles about specific authors, books, poems, plays, short stories, and more.
- MLA International Bibliography
The MLA International Bibliography, produced by the Modern Language Association of America, consists of citations related to literature, language, linguistics, and folklore in nearly 4,000 scholarly journals, books, book chapters, and other formats. Includes some non-English language material. 1926 to present.
If MLA Bibliography isn't giving you what you need, try broadening your search with Academic Search Complete. This interdisciplinary database collects journal articles and reviews from the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, giving you wider coverage of topics. This is a great choice if your research is about public policy issues, cultural movements, and more.
- Academic Search CompleteFind articles in all subject areas in over 17,000 journals and magazines, with full text for most. Updated daily. Dates vary, some as early as 1865 to present.
JSTOR is another interdisciplinary database with lots of full text journal articles.
Searching JSTOR is a bit different from MLA Bibliography.
- In MLA Bibliography, our keywords have to match titles, authors, abstracts, and other descriptive parts of the article.
- In JSTOR, you are searching the full text of every article. This means you can find every mention of a word or name, but that can also result in thousands of hits, not all of which are relevant. Keep that in mind when crafting your search terms.
- JSTOR
Full-text scholarly journals in many subject areas. JSTOR has the beginning of each journal to 3, 4 or 5 years ago. How-to videos.
Other Library Catalogs
- OCLC WorldCatCatalog of books, web resources, and other material worldwide in OCLC member libraries. (Does not include book chapters or individual articles in journals, magazines, and newspapers.) Includes considerable non-English language material.
- Library of Congress CatalogThe online catalog of the Library of Congress, listing millions of books, past and present.
- Tulane's Howard-Tilton CatalogLoyola and Tulane have a reciprocal borrowing agreement that allows the students, staff, and faculty of each institution to check out books from the other's library. To see if Tulane has a book that is not currently in our catalog, click here to search the Howard-Tilton's catalog. Be sure to change the search function from "Multiple Sources" to "Books."