Library Guides: Literature in English: Articles

Best Bets

MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
Indexes journal articles and other literature supporting critical scholarship on literature, language, linguistics, and folklore. Some full text. (Modern Languages Association Bibliography) [1926 - present]
Sponsored by the Modern Language Association.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Database with full-text, peer-reviewed journal articles and scholarly ebooks. Most recent 3-5 years of journal issues generally not available.
For more sophisticated search capabilities, go directly to JSTOR advanced search.
Project MUSE This link opens in a new window
Find scholarly articles and scholarly ebooks in the humanities and social sciences. Full text. Good source for current scholarship.
Topics include literature and criticism, history, the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, education, political science, gender studies, economics and many others. Books are available in PDF format, searchable and retrievable to the chapter level, with no restrictions on downloading or printing.

Additional Selected Databases

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
A multidisciplinary index to articles in thousands of journals with full-text for many. Good place to find recent scholarly articles when researching short papers.
Articles from broad array of peer-reviewed journals, popular and trade magazines and news sources for nearly all areas of study; available in English, Spanish, German, French, Italian and Portuguese.
Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature (ABELL) This link opens in a new window
Published by the Modern Humanities Research Association, ABELL indexes materials about works originally written in English. Should be searched in conjunction with the MLAIB since the two indexes have only about 60-70% overlap in coverage.
Indexes monographs, periodical articles, critical editions of literary works, book reviews, collections of essays, and doctoral dissertations related to English language and literature.
Literature Online (LION) This link opens in a new window
Includes works of English and American poetry, drama and prose, full-text literature journals, and other key criticism and reference resources. [600 - contemporary]
Literature Resource Center (LRC) This link opens in a new window
Indexes biographies, bibliographies, and critical analyses of more than 120,000 novelists, poets, essayists, journalists, and other authors. (Twayne English - Twayne US - Scribner - Twayne World Authors) [dates vary]
Provides access to content of numerous print counterparts including Contemporary Authors, Contemporary Literary Criticism Select, and Dictionary of Literary Biography.

Databases in Related Fields

America: History and Life
HISTORY AND AMERICAN STUDIES: Find journal articles, dissertations, books, conference papers, and magazine articles on American life, history, and culture. Some full text. Good database for American Studies.
Index of journals on the history of the US and Canada from prehistory to the present.
Film and Television Literature Index with Full Text (FLI) This link opens in a new window
FILM AND MEDIA STUDIES: Find magazine articles, reviews, and scholarly articles on film and media. Some full text. [1976 - present]
Indexes 150 scholarly and popular periodicals from 30 countries cover-to-cover and 300 other periodicals selectively for reviews and articles on the topic film and television. Search by keyword, production title and more or browse by some 2000 subject headings.
Historical Abstracts
WORLD HISTORY: Find scholarly articles and more on world history (excluding United States and Canada) from 1450 on. Some full text. [1955 - present]
Excludes US and Canada. Covers from 1450 to the present.
International Bibliography of Theatre and Dance with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Online bibliography of materials indexed by the Theatre Research Data Center.
Contains the full text of journals, monographs and reference books. Includes indexing of academic journals, magazines, newspapers, dissertations, and monographs from over 125 countries. (International Bibliography of Theatre)
Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA) This link opens in a new window
LINGUISTICS: Find scholarly articles in linguistics. Some full text. [1973 - present]
Complete coverage is also given to various fields of linguistics including descriptive, historical, comparative, theoretical and geographical linguistics.
Performing Arts Periodicals Database This link opens in a new window
Index of performing arts periodicals. (formerly known as International Index to the Performing Arts) [1864 - present]
Indexes and abstracts scholarly and popular performing arts periodicals, documents, biographical profiles, conference papers, obituaries, interviews, discographies, and reviews. Covers a broad spectrum of the arts and entertainment industry including dance, film, television, drama, theater, stagecraft, musical theater, broadcast arts, circus performance, comedy, storytelling, opera, pantomime, puppetry, magic and more.
Philosopher's Index This link opens in a new window
PHILOSOPHY: Find scholarly articles. Best index for philosophy. Also includes literary theory. [1940 - present]
Includes references to journal articles, books, book chapters, and book reviews published in some 550 journals.
PsycINFO This link opens in a new window
PSYCHOLOGY: Find scholarly articles and more. Some full text.
Indexes journals, conference proceedings, books, reports, and dissertations in psychology and enriched with literature from psychiatry, education, business, medicine, nursing, pharmacology, law, linguistics, and social work.
Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new window
SOCIOLOGY: Find scholarly articles. Some full text. [1952 - present]

Literary Essays

Essay and General Literature Index Retrospective This link opens in a new window
Citations to essays, articles and miscellaneous works published in the United States, Great Britain, and Canada. It covers 8 decades (1900-1984) of essays, annuals and serial publications from the 20th Century. [1900-1984]

Literary Journals

Independent Voices This link opens in a new window
Over 1000 alternative press titles focusing on the 60s, 70s and 80s. Includes "little magazines," literary journals, OwnVoices materials, antiwar publications, political campus publications, and publications by social justice, race, gender, and sexuality activists. [1960 - 2000]

Article FAQ

Common Questions:

How do I find the best sources?
How do I evaluate sources?
What's the difference between popular and scholarly sources?
What's the difference between primary and secondary sources?

Find answers at Evaluating Resources Help!

What does Peer Review mean?:

A peer-reviewed journal is one in which a group of widely acknowledged experts in a field reviews the content for scholarly soundness and academic value.

Peer review may be one measure to help you evaluate an article.

You can limit your search to peer-reviewed articles in many databases or in UC Library Search.

How Do I Find the PDFs?

1. From the article record, look for a “PDF,” “HTML,” or “Full Text” link.
2. If no PDF is available through the database, click the Get It at UC icon and click through to the linked PDF.

3. If no PDF is available via Get It at UC, click Request to get a copy through Interlibrary Loan.

How Can I Access Resources from Off-Campus?

If starting on a library website, current students, faculty, and staff can access online library resources from off campus.

When visiting an online library resource (like JSTOR) from this guide, UC Library Search, or other library website, you'll be prompted to log in with your Cal ID.

For added flexibility, install the browser bookmarklet.

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Literature in English