Three Good Multidisciplinary Options

ACADEMIC SEARCH PREMIER (EBSCOHOST) Harvard Key

Why: The advantages of Academic Search Premier are 1) its multidisciplinary; 2) its inclusion of very recent content; 3) its mix of scholarly, news, and magazine content.

JSTOR Harvard Key

Why: This tried and true database is probably one of the first places you learned to search for scholarly literature. "Smallish" (in relative terms), it's also mighty because the journals it includes are those that, historically, have been considered the most important and most impactful in the fields they cover.  

One nice feature of JSTOR is the ability to zero in on a particular discipline. Scanning the left side limits after you run a straight keyword search might help you pinpoint where the scholarly conversation is clustering (history, Asian studies, urban studies, etc.)

One downside of JSTOR: it typically excludes the most recent 1-5 years of the publications it includes (with some exceptions). That means you may want to supplement / update with  in HOLLIS,  Google Scholar, or one of the subject databases described below. 

GOOGLE SCHOLAR

Why: GS searches differently from most library databases, including HOLLIS. In addition to searching "metadata" (lots of descriptive info about a book or article, it also searches full-text . This can be an additional advantage when you've got a very narrow topic or are seeking a "nugget" that traditional database searching can't surface easily.

Google Scholar incorporates more types of information -- not just books and journal contents-- and depending on your need, comfort level, and perspective, that eclecticism can be an advantage.

It's also an excellent way to follow citation trails. Enter the title of a book or journal article and then click on Cited by when the item appears.

Subject Specific Options: If You're Feeling Adventurous

APA PsycInfo 

  • Recommended  for topics that have a psychological dimension, like trauma and pseudoscience. 

Communications Abstracts (Ebscohost) Harvard Key 

  • Recommended for topics on media influences (e.g., Russia/Ukraine war, attitudes toward climate change)

Environment Index (Ebschost) Harvard Key 

  • Recommended for topics on climate change, environmental impacts of human actions, animal behavior, food production, food security 

IDEAS RePEc 

  • A  free online supersite of economic literature, maintained by researchers themselves.  Recommended for high frequency/althgorithmic trading 

Sociological Abstracts (ProQuest) Harvard Key 

  • Recommended for most projects.  

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts (ProQuest)  Harvard Key 

  • Recommended for topics on national food security, government corruption, ranked choice voting, issue framing in politics., representation in politics.