Note: what follows is a list of databases. If you'd like some tips on how to quickly familiarize yourself with a new database, check out the Decoding a Database handout.
If you know the discipline you want to search, a database devoted to that discipline is a powerful tool. You'll find ways of specifying your search terms that are just right (time period, protest movement, music genre, etc.), plus results you won't see anywhere else.
These are our top recommendations, but Harvard licenses many hundreds of databases---so please feel free to email for additional or alternative recommendations! (If you'd like to get a sense of the range, you can browse the database list.)