Doing Research Beyond HOLLIS: Databases We Recommend

databases.hollis.harvard.edu

Bookmark this address!  it's invaluable for discovering the key online resources for identifying scholarship in a given academic field (like medicine or history). It's also where you can easily find digitized collections of texts and important primary source materials, data and dataset collections, and media of many kinds (images, maps, film, sound, music). 

These collections contain items that may not be in HOLLIS or don't surface easily there.  

You can search by keyword, browse by subject category or do fancy combinations of both in advanced search.

Five broadly useful databases for finding scholarship 

A great next step when HOLLIS seems too big or your results are overwhelming. ASP searches a smaller number of scholarly journals (covering all disciplines), magazines, and news sources. 

PRO TIP: To find other EBSCO databases which are more specifically focused (e.g., on history, environment, business, etc.), click on the Change Database link right above the search box. 

A good bet for SHARP fellows or researchers working on humanities-focused projects.  It offers broad coverage of scholarship on literature, theater, philosophy, history, art, music, and related fields.

A good bet for PRIMO fellows, since it brings together significant scholarly literature, company reports, market research, industry reports, and business and financial news sources..

A good bet for BLISS fellows, this database broadly covers such fields as politics, public policy, sociology, social work, anthropology, criminology, psychology, linguistics and education. 

Scholar should be part of every fellow's toolkit. For PRISE fellows, it's probably the go-to resource after PubMed or Web of Science.

Up your game by taking advantage of the features of the advanced search screen and make your access to full-text seamless by tweaking your Scholar settings. 

One great database for searching across library catalogs (and beyond HOLLIS)

A way to search across national and international catalogs to identify materials, confirm citations, or discover archival materials in many formats.

One great database for locating primary source collections

A database for identifying historical documents, personal papers, and family histories held in archives around the world. 

Current and historical news databases

 

Other Ways to Explore for Databases

  • How to do research in.... (suggestions by discipline)
  • Get a personalized recommendation from a (library) friend: contact the the library expert(s) already matched to your BLISS or SHARP project. All other summer research fellows can request us to match you with an expert via Ask a Librarian.
  • Browse our library research guides by subject to see what librarians typically recommend.
  • Do a Google search of your broad subject and add this string "library research guide" site:.edu Example: biomechanics "library research guide" site:.edu
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