Related Guides
Featured Database: Policy Map
- Policy Map This link opens in a new window Easy-to-use online mapping and visualization tool. Downloadable U.S. demographic, economic and social data by city, state, zip code, county or census tract. Types of data include crime, housing, health, education and occupations, derived from both public and proprietary sources.
Databases
Searching Across Disciplines
- BU Libraries Search (BULS) This link opens in a new window 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.
- Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window 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
- Web of Science This link opens in a new window Web of Science is one of the core general science databases covering all aspects of scientific literature. It also has a number of tools that make it a unique resource for finding scholarly literature. Item records come with links both to the works cited by the paper in question and the future works that cite that paper. Web of Science also allows the user to set up email alerts for specific authors or topics, provides researcher profiles, and allows the user to search conference proceedings.
- ScienceDirect This link opens in a new window ScienceDirect is a general science database that searches journal articles and book chapters in all areas of science, technology, and health. ScienceDirect also provides full text access to a number of major reference works, allows the user to create email alerts for specific journal titles, book series, or research topics, and provides access to a limited number of "pre-pub" articles (articles accepted for publication but not yet officially released). Date coverage: varies by publication.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new window 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.
- Project Muse This link opens in a new window 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.
- ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT) This link opens in a new window 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.
Architecture & Environment
- Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals This link opens in a new window Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals indexes American state and regional periodicals, professional association publications, and the major journals on architecture and design of Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Australia. Subject areas are architecture and design, archaeology, city planning, interior design, and historic preservation. Includes obituary citations. Date coverage: 1934 – present
- Environment Complete This link opens in a new window Environment Complete is a comprehensive database focused on all aspects of environmental science including conservation, biodiversity, climate, pollution, agriculture and aquaculture, environmental law and policy, urban planning, environmental engineering, and more. Date coverage: 1940 - present with selected full text from 1975 - present.
- GreenFILE This link opens in a new window GreenFILE searches journal articles, government documents, and ebooks relating to human impact on the environment. It covers interdisciplinary topics such as environmental policy, environmental engineering, pollution, conservation, and other areas in which human activities and nature coincide. GreenFILE also contains a cited references feature that allows the user to see what material the author has cited in their publication, and what later publications cite it. Date coverage: varies by publication.
Agriculture & Nutrition
- Agriculture Collection Available through the Massachusetts Library System
- General Science Full Text This link opens in a new window A multidisciplinary science database designed for students and non-specialists. Subject coverage includes astronomy, biology, botany, chemistry, conservation, health, medicine, oceanography, physics, and zoology. Covers leading journals and magazines, biographical sketches, symposia, conferences, review articles, and special issues of journals. Also covers the New York Times Science Section and cites book reviews. Date coverage: abstracts 1984 - present, selected full text 1995 - present.
- Biological Abstracts This link opens in a new window Biological Abstracts searches journal articles in all areas of the biological sciences. Like all databases on the Web of Science platform, it also provides citation information — both articles cited and 'cited by' links, allowing the user to follow the literature on a topic both forward and backward in time. Allows searching using BIOSIS indexing, MeSH terms, and CAS registry numbers as well as the more traditional search terms. Date coverage: 1989 - present.
- Culinary Arts Collection Available through the Massachusetts Library System
- Gardening, Landscaping and Horticulture Collection Available from the Massachusetts Library System
- AGRICOLA (National Agricultural Library Catalog) This link opens in a new window Index to the National Agricultural Library, including primary sources on world agriculture. Most useful for pre-2000 coverage.
Social Sciences
- Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new window 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.
- Social Sciences Full Text This link opens in a new window 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.
- PAIS Index This link opens in a new window The PAIS International database covers current public policy issues and areas of potential legislation. Cited articles, books and documents can date back to 1910 and are listed in the original language. While some full text is included, the index primarily links to full text articles available through existing BU subscriptions. Date coverage: Approximately 1910 - present.
- Social Services Abstracts This link opens in a new window This database includes the full text and abstracts of articles from over 1300 journals in the social work and human services fields. It also includes citations to dissertations and theses. Topics covered include social work practice, social welfare, community and mental health services, and crisis intervention. Date coverage: 1980-
- Criminal Justice Abstracts This link opens in a new window Criminal Justice Abstracts indexes and abstracts international journal articles and as well as books on criminal justice and criminology. Date coverage: 1968 - present.
- Criminal Justice Database This link opens in a new window ProQuest Criminal Justice indexes and abstracts U.S. and international scholarly journals and trade journals on crime, its causes and impacts, legal and social implications, as well as litigation and crime trends. Date coverage: 1981 - present.
- Education Database This link opens in a new window 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.
- Education Full Text This link opens in a new window 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.
- Worldwide Political Science Abstracts (WPSA) This link opens in a new window Indexes and abstracts international relations, political science, and foreign affairs literature. May include references to dissertations, books, or scholarly articles. Some full text included; links provided to BU content. Date coverage: 1975 - present.
