Research Guides: U.S. History Research Guide: Finding Articles

Finding Articles

Evidence found in newspaper, magazine and journal articles is more specific than background information and support your arguments. Scholarly (peer-reviewed) articles are often required for academic papers. These articles are found using subscription library databases.

The short list of databases on this page may be particularly useful for your assignment. A full list of our databases can be found here:

Database List (all databases)
A list of all databases available through the PCC Library. Can be viewed as an alphabetical list or sorted by subject and type of content.

Recommended Databases for U.S. History

America: History & Life with Full Text (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
Literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to the present.
Biography (Gale in Context) This link opens in a new window
Search for biographies based on name, occupation, nationality, ethnicity, birth/death dates and places, gender, or other keywords.
U.S. History (Gale OneFile) This link opens in a new window
Balanced coverage of both current thoughts on events in U.S. history as well as scholarly work in the field. Sources include academic journals and other periodicals.
U.S. History (Gale in Context) This link opens in a new window
Covers themes, events, individuals and periods in U.S. history from pre-Colonial times to the present. Includes historical (primary) documents, reference articles, journal citations and full-text journal articles.
Salem History This link opens in a new window
Information from the Milestone Documents Series, the Great Events from History Series, and other Salem reference books.
SIRS Issues Researcher (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
SIRS Issues Researcher provides insight into the most-studied social issues by delivering the pros and cons from relevant, credible documents and graphics selected from over 2,000 global sources. Leading Issues pages provide a framework for understanding and analyzing over 360 complex social issues with overviews, essential questions, viewpoints, and editorially selected primary and secondary sources.
US Major Dailies (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Covers the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and Christian Science Monitor. Newspaper articles from a particular historical time and place can be used as primary sources.

Databases with Primary Source Content

Looking for primary source materials?

General Databases

These databases cover a broad range of subjects; you may find additional sources in them beyond what is found in the history-specific databases.

JSTOR (including Artstor) This link opens in a new window
JSTOR offers scholarly journal articles, books, and primary sources in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. PCC has access to JSTOR's Arts & Sciences I, II, III, V, VII, and XI collections, as well as JSTOR's Open Access eBook Collection. JSTOR also incorporates the thousands of searchable, high-quality Artstor images covering architecture, painting, sculpture, photography, decorative arts, design, and more.
EBSCOhost (Combined) This link opens in a new window
A combined search of a wide variety of EBSCOhost databases containing thousands of journal, magazine, and newspaper articles covering all disciplines. Includes scholarly journal articles. Includes Academic Search Premier, America: History and Life, science and medicine/health databases, psychology databases, and many more. PCC offers a brief video with instructions for using this database, and more advanced ways to improve your search,
ProQuest (combined) This link opens in a new window
A combined search of a wide variety of ProQuest databases offering full text access to articles from academic journals, newspapers, magazines and other periodicals covering a variety of subject areas. Includes ProQuest Research Library, GenderWatch, Ethnic NewsWatch, and many more databases.
SIRS Issues Researcher (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
SIRS Issues Researcher provides insight into the most-studied social issues by delivering the pros and cons from relevant, credible documents and graphics selected from over 2,000 global sources. Leading Issues pages provide a framework for understanding and analyzing over 360 complex social issues with overviews, essential questions, viewpoints, and editorially selected primary and secondary sources.

Using Google Scholar at PCC

Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
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A broad search for scholarly literature, including articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions. Not all articles are available in full text. Before using Google Scholar, see the above video to learn how to set it up to connect you to articles available via PCC.

U.S. History Research Guide

Off Campus Log In (Database Access)

Why Use a Database?

Popular vs. Scholarly Sources

Finding Articles

Recommended Databases for U.S. History

Databases with Primary Source Content

General Databases

Using Google Scholar at PCC