BU Library Search
You can use the BU Libraries Search box to look for print and electronic resources available through the Boston University Libraries. These resources include print books and journals available in the library stacks, as well as e-books and full-text journal articles.
Want support getting started with your search? Check out our searching the library tutorial page.
Databases
BU Libraries Search will connect you to content within our databases. However, some people will choose to begin their research within a database. This is a strong choice for you if you want a lot of control over your results, or only want to see results from a specific discipline.
To learn more about BU databases visit our guide for using Databases for Social Work Research: https://library.bu.edu/socialworkdatabases.
Criminal Justice and Law
- 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.
- Criminal Justice Database This link opens in a new window The Criminal Justice Database 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.
- National Criminal Justice Reference Service Abstracts This link opens in a new window The NCJRS Abstracts Database contains summaries of U.S. and international publications, including federal, state, and local government reports, books, research reports, journal articles, audiovisual presentations, and unpublished research.
- HeinOnline This link opens in a new window Hein Online is a PDF collection of primary and secondary legal materials including: law reviews, law journals, and bar journals; treatises; federal statutes and legislative materials; federal regulations and executive materials; Supreme Court cases; selected state materials; titles from the American Law Institute and National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws; and a growing collection of international legal materials including United Nations publications and treaties.
- Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Social Sciences
- Social Science Premium Collection This link opens in a new window This collection provides access to databases covering international literature in social sciences, including politics, public policy, sociology, social work, anthropology, criminology, linguistics, library science, and education. Featured databases include IBSS, Sociological Abstracts and Worldwide Political Science Abstracts. Together, they provide abstracts, indexing and full-text access to journal articles, books, book chapters, dissertations, working papers, and more.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window Covers the most current and controversial issues of the day with summaries, pros and cons, bibliographies and more. Provides reporting and analysis on issues in the news, including issues relating to health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the economy.
- Worldwide Political Science Abstracts 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.
Searching Across Disciplines
- BU Libraries Search This link opens in a new window BU Libraries Search provides a single place to search for a wide variety of research material provided by the library. Resources covered by the search includes books and eBooks, journals, scores and sheet music, video and audio recordings, and other physical and electronic items held by the library. Coverage encompasses materials relating to the prehistoric and antique world through to the present.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Web of Science This link opens in a new window This database is a core general science resource, 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 to use associated journal metrics provided by the vendor.
- 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).
- ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 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 level theses are included selectively.
