Secondary Sources
Articles
About Indexes and Databases
To find scholarly articles on a topic, you will need to use a periodical index. Most of the Libraries' indexes are available as online databases, but in some cases you will need to consult a print index for older materials. Each periodical index focuses on a specific subject area or body of literature. Because most indexes are produced at a national level, they may include many magazines and journals not available at Williams. See below for more information about locating articles at Williams and borrowing from other libraries.
Indexes, Databases, and E-Journals Collections for LATS 471
Multidisciplinary Indexes
Expanded Academic Index (1980-Present)
Multi-disciplinary index to scholarly academic and general interest periodicals.
Web of Science (1900-Present )
Multi-disciplinary index to academic and general interest journals. Includes Science Citation Index Expanded (1900-present), Social Sciences Citation Index (1956-present) and Arts & Humanities Citation Index (1975-present ).
Google Scholar
A good place to search for scholarly documents not published in journals or books.
Subject Specific Indexes
America: History and Life (1964-Present )
An index to scholarly articles, dissertations, and book reviews on the history and culture of North America (United States and Canada) from prehistory to the present. Covers approximately 1,800 journals.
Chicano Database (1960s-Present)
Index to all types of material for information about Mexican-American and Chicano topics; selective coverage back to 1900. Since 1992 covers the broader Latino experience, including Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans, and Central American immigrants.
Historical Abstracts (1955-Present)
An index to books, scholarly articles, and dissertations in world history (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present. Covers approximately 1,800 journals.
International Political Science Abstracts (1951-Present)
Produced by the International Political Science Association, IPSA includes current indexing and abstracts of nearly 900 of the world's leading journals in political science.
Sociological Abstracts (1952-Present)
Index to articles, conference proceedings and book reviews published in sociology journals and related fields such as anthropology, economics, education, linguistics, medicine, philosophy, political science, and social psychology.
Locating Articles
While searching articles databases, you will want to determine whether the Williams College Libraries own the journals containing the articles you wish to read.
Many databases have this 
icon. When you click on the icon in the database, it will attempt to find an electronic version of the text in our collection. If it doesn't find an electronic version, it will give you a screen with a link to FRANCIS and Williams ILL. The FRANCIS link sends a pre-formatted search into FRANCIS to find print or other electronic subscriptions in our collection. The Williams ILL link provides an automatically filled-in interlibrary loan request form to get a copy from another library.
If the database you are using does not have the Find Text icon, you can do a journal title search in FRANCIS or use Citation Linker.
See also indexes to specific areas such as women's studies, literature, art, music, and more.
Books
- FRANCIS--books and other materials at Williams College; includes direct requesting from NExpress libraries.
- Virtual Catalog--books owned by Boston Library Consortium libraries; direct requesting available. Good for getting items listed in bibliographies.
- WorldCat-- combined catalog of more than 9,000 libraries in the U.S. and around the world. Most books located in WorldCat can be requested through NExpress, the BLC Virtual Catalog, or through ILLiad (interlibrary loan).
Search Tips and Hints:
- Start with an Advanced Keyword search in FRANCIS or search for a known title. Use the subject headings of the records retrieved to find additional sources on the topic.
- After clicking on a subject heading in a FRANCIS record, browse the topical and geographical subdivisions of the subject for additional ideas.
- For title searches, omit the beginning "The," "A," or "An" in the title.
- For author searches, remember to enter the last name followed by the first name.