Overview

HOLLIS Databases is the section of HOLLIS that contains all of the Harvard Library's subscriptions. (Note that some School libraries, e.g. Baker Business have access to databases that can only be used in those libraries and by those in that program. Everything in HOLLIS Databases can be used by any member of the Harvard Community.)

The Databases link in HOLLIS' top menu leads to many tools to help you find both primary and secondary sources.

 

 

 The Harvard Library subscribes to many article databases and datasets from many different vendors, and may have different search interfaces. Many of the same search terms will work, but how you limit or refine the search, save and export results will be different.

This course covers many disciplines and many historical and modern periods. Which databases you choose will depend on your topic. If you are in doubt, please ask--my contact information is on the bottom left of the Welcome page.

These three are generally a good place to start when you are looking for the physical and mental affects of your topic, e.g physical and psychological affects of affordable housing.

  • Social Sciences Premium Collection: covers international literature in social sciences, including politics, public policy, sociology, social work, anthropology, criminology, linguistics, library science, and education. Includes abstracts, journal articles, books, book chapters, dissertations, working papers, and more. A good place to start for scholarly articles across a broad range of subject areas.
  • PubMed: from the U.S. National Library of Medicine it covers all fields of medical inquiry. It's coverage of Africa, South Asia, and South East Asia is not as strong as it's coverage of European journal. Has some coverage of psychology, especially the physical/brain imaging areas.
  • PsycInfo: from the American Psychological Association. Covers psychology and related disciplines (e.g. education, linguistics, neurosciences, etc.). Like PubMed, there are weaknesses in non-American, non-Europe coverage.

Given the variety of topics and subject areas being researched, use the Research Guides and Sources for data sections of this guide to find more specific articles databases and data sources for your topic.