Special attention should be given to the date of publication of the resources you select for your papers. The Catholic Church underwent tremendous changes in 1965 with the Second Vatican Council. As a result, materials published before 1965 represent an historic view of Catholic theology. Materials published after 1965 reflect current Catholic theology.
Scholarly Articles
Scholarly articles are published in journals. Researchers use databases to search hundreds or even thousands of journals at one time. Some databases search journals in a big range of subjects, and some databases search journals only within one subject. Use this handout to identify the parts of an academic article.
- ATLA Religion Databases with ATLASerials This link opens in a new window ATLA Religion Database® (ATLA RDB®) with ATLASerials® (ATLAS®) combines the premier index to journal articles, book reviews, and collections of essays in all fields of religion with ATLA's full text collection of 300+ major religion and theology journals. This collection also includes content previously available in the ATLA Catholic Periodical and Literature Indec (ATLA CPLI). This database is produced by the American Theological Library Association.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new window A total of more than 900 full-text scholarly journal titles in an online archive beginning with the first issue of each title. The archive includes nine JSTOR Arts and Sciences Collections.In JSTOR, there is usually a time lag in full-text content. Use JSTOR in conjunction with our current online databases and print holdings.Since results may contain articles that are not peer reviewed, search for the journal title using the A-Z Journals by Title list to verify the journal's peer-reviewed status.Note: AND, OR, NOT must be entered in all uppercase. (See further details.)
- ProQuest Religion This link opens in a new window Provides international periodicals for diverse religious and spiritual studies, covering formal theological studies of major religions, as well as the most recent trends and scholarly thought.
- Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window Multidisciplinary database with extensive full-text coverage in biology, chemistry, engineering, physics, psychology, religion, theology and other disciplines in the humanities. Indexes 8,450 publications with full text for more than 4,600 of those titles (more than 3,900 are peer-reviewed). PDF backfiles to 1975 or earlier for more than one hundred journals. Searchable cited references for more than 1,000 publications.
- Google Scholar This link opens in a new window Click on the Full-Text@Emmanuel at the right of articles or the more option below the item record.Search for the journal title using the A-Z Journals by Title list to verify the journals peer-reviewed status.
Tips for Using Article Databases
- Text will give you articles where your search term(s) show up at least once in the entire text of the article.
- Title will only give you articles with your search term in the title of the article.
- Abstract will only give you articles with your search term in the abstract (short summary at the beginning of a scholarly article).
Here is what it looks like in Academic Search Premier:
- If you need only peer-reviewed articles, check that box
- Other important filters: date, source type, subject
Example of what database filters might look like:
Other resources for finding and using scholarly articles:
Finding Full-Text Articles
If you get to a relevant article, but you don't see the full text of the article, look for the FindIt@Emmanuel button. If Emmanuel College has the full article, you will be taken to a list of options for accessing it.
If we don't have the full article, you can request it from another library through interlibrary loan.
Need help?
Associate Librarian for Reference, Instruction, and Outreach
zydlewsd@emmanuel.edu | 617-735-9927
Schedule an Appointment