Peer Review in Three MInutes
How do articles get peer reviewed? What role does peer review play in scholarly research and publication?
Finding Scholarly Literature
The BU Libraries provide access to literally millions of articles from scholarly journals and other publications. Most, but not all, of these articles can be accessed via BU Libraries Search (BULS). Search results can be limited to scholarly articles by clicking on the Peer-Reviewed Articles filter under "Availability" on the right side of the search results page.
Specialized subject databases provide access to articles in specific subject fields. These are more limited in scope than BULS, but can be provide more relevant and focused results.. (See Guides & Databases by Subject for lists of these databases.)
Ask for help from a BU Librarian for guidance on finding scholarly articles on your topic.
Consult Subject Guides
Our Subject Librarians have compiled subject guides that will connect you to discipline-specific resources. Consult guides such as Psychology or Political Science to find background sources, relevant texts and scholarly journals within those disciplines.
Be sure to look at our listing of Guides, you can look at them by Subject.
Disciplinary Databases
Click here for a full listing of our databases; browsable by subject.
Search across disciplines
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BU Libraries Search (BULS) BU Libraries Search provides a single place to search for a wide variety of academic material provided by the library. The material covered by the search includes books, journals, scores, video and audio recordings, and other physical items held by the library. The search also covers ebooks and ejournals owned by the library, as well as online material provided by the library from a variety of sources.
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Academic Search Premier Academic Search Premier contains indexing, abstracts and full-text articles for scholarly publications, most of them peer-reviewed. The subjects covered include topics in the social sciences, humanities, general science, education and most areas of academic study. Date coverage varies by publication
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JSTOR This database provides full text access to the back issues of core scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Book reviews are included as well as journal articles. Abstracts are available for some of the articles. Date coverage: earliest issues of each journal up to the most current five years for most publications and to the present for some.
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Project Muse Project Muse provides digital access to scholarly journals and books in the humanities and social sciences. The scholarly content comes from non-profit scholarly publishers, including university presses and societies. The full text resources include journal articles, book reviews and book chapters.
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ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT) This database contains indexing and abstracts of American doctoral dissertations accepted at accredited institutions since 1861 and a selection from other countries. Masters theses are included selectively. Date coverage: full text 1997 - present; abstracts 1980 - present; indexing 1861 - present.
Education
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Education Database Education Database provides access to a large number of academic publications, including many articles in full text. The coverage spans all levels of education and is particularly strong in the topics of special education, educational administration, early childhood education, and higher education. Date coverage: 1988 - present.
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ERIC (Education Resources Information Center) ERIC is a collection of journal articles, association reports, conference papers, government documents, books and other materials on education-related topics. Some items are available in full text. This database is particularly useful for public policy, curriculum studies, administration, and youth literature. Date coverage: 1960s - present with some earlier items.
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Education Full Text Education Full Text provides records for research articles and other scholarly materials, some available in full text, covering all levels from early childhood to higher education. Subject coverage includes special education, teaching methods, leadership, global education and much more. Date coverage: full text 1996 - present; abstracts 1983 - present.
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America: History & Life (AHL) Covers the history and culture of the U.S. and Canada from prehistory to present times; indexes journal articles, book titles and chapters, reviews from numerous multilingual sources; all abstracts in English. Date coverage: 1949-present
Social Sciences
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APA PsycINFO PsycInfo provides access to journal articles, books and book chapters, and dissertations that cover the scholarly literature in the psychological, social, behavioral, and health sciences. It includes material of relevance to psychologists and professionals in related fields such as psychiatry, management, business, education, social science, neuroscience, law, medicine, and social work. Date coverage: 1894-
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Communication & Mass Media Complete (CMMC) CMMC indexes journals covering communication, mass media, linguistics, discourse, rhetoric, sociolinguistics, communication theory, language, logic, organizational communication and other closely related fields of study. Date coverage: 1915 - present.
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Social Sciences Full Text Social Sciences Full Text provides access to hundreds of English language journals in the social sciences. About two-thirds of the journals are peer-reviewed. Date coverage: 1983 - present.
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Sociological Abstracts Sociological Abstracts indexes and abstracts the international literature of sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. The database provides abstracts of journal articles and citations to book reviews. It also provides abstracts of books, book chapters, dissertations, and conference papers. Forty percent of the content is published outside of North America. Date coverage: 1952 - present.
Arts & Literature
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Performing Arts Database Performing Arts Database locates citations for writings spanning the disciplines of theatre, dance, and music. These writings chiefly originate in subject-specific trade journals, magazines, and more established scholarly journals. Some full-text is included. Content is international in scope with the majority of the original content having been produced in the United States and Europe. Date coverage: Generally 1990s - present.
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FIAF International Index to Film Periodicals Database Indexes, abstracts, and provides full text of articles from academic and popular film journals. Also includes several film reference books. Abstracts late 19th century - present; full text 1930s - present.
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Humanities Full Text / Humanities & Social Sciences Index Retrospective These combined databases provide access to journal articles, book reviews, performance reviews, interviews, bibliographies and more from a broad range of humanities and social sciences journals. Date coverage: 1907 - present.
Head, African Studies Library
Beth Restrick
Contact:
African Studies Library
6th floor, Mugar Memorial Library
Mon-Fri, 9am- 5pm
6th floor, Mugar Memorial Library
Mon-Fri, 9am- 5pm
617-353-3726
Subjects: African Studies