Essential journal databases in Psychology
PsycInfo
The premier e-resource for locating research and scholarship in psychology and its many subfields, PsycInfo is produced by the American Psychological Association. Coverage includes items from over 1800 journals in more than 24 languages. Content dates back to 1872 for some journals. PsycInfo Quick Reference Guide.
PubMed
Produced by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), the largest medical library in the world. PubMed contains citations and abstracts to research published in more than 4,800 biomedical journals. To learn more about PubMed and how to search it see PubMed, a research guide from the Harvard Library. Here is the guide to learn more about MeSH (Medical Subject Headings).
Web of Science
A multidisciplinary database that allows you to search across nearly 10,000 widely read and often cited academic journals and magazines. Coverage is particularly strong in science related fields, including psychology. Web of Science also enables you to find how many times a paper has been cited and by whom.
Journal Databases in Related Fields
ERIC [Educational Resources Information Center]
A major e-resource for research on all aspects of education (U.S. and international), ERIC is produced by the U.S. Department of Education and available to us through EBSCOhost. Covers the education literature published 1966 - present.
History of Science, Technology and Medicine
Considered the definitive international database for locating research on topics broadly related to the history of science. Content is drawn from 9,500 journals and other scholarly materials. Research published from 1975 on is accessible here.
Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA)
LLBA derives its content from more than 1500 journal publications and covers language in all its aspects, from phonology and syntax to writing systems and the philosophy of language. Both current and older research (back as far as 1973) is searchable from within LLBA.
Other Full Text Databases
Google Scholar
A good resource to supplement the other databases on this page. Before using it, be sure to change your Google Scholar settings.
Brief Introduction to Peer Review
In most academic fields, but especially in the sciences, journal literature is the primary means of communicating new findings, revisions to old theories, and the success (or failure) of experimental replications. Journal articles provide the crucial updating function necessary for responsible research.
For a brief introduction to scholarly articles and peer review see: Finding Scholarly Articles