English Language and Literature  

Articles in Periodicals

Periodicals contain articles. The library catalogue cannot be used to find articles on your research topic. Instead, you need to search databases.

There are two major types of periodical publications: scholarly and popular. It is important to be aware of the differences between them before you search for articles in databases.

Key databases to search are listed below. You will find that databases are all different

• Some are full text: articles can be read online and printed, emailed, or saved.
• Some contain only citations.
• Some contain a mix of citations and full text.

General Databases

Academic Search Premier
What: provides citations and abstracts, as well as some full-text, for articles in scholarly and popular periodicals relevant to any area of academic studies including English.

Humanities and Social Sciences Index Retrospective
What: covers the humanities and social sciences back to 1907. Coverage also includes content from H.W. Wilson’s International Index. Subjects covered include:  archaeology, classical studies, area studies, folklore, history, language and literature, performing arts, philosophy, and religion and theology. It includes articles, interviews, obituaries, bibliographies, symposia, blanket references (regularly occurring features), book reviews, works of fiction, drama and poetry, reviews of plays, operas, ballets, dance, musicals, motion pictures, videotapes, television programs, and radio programs.

Modern Language Association International Bibliography (MLA)
What: (1963 to the present) covers literature in English and in other modern languages; linguistics; folklore. It includes books (and chapters in books), journal articles, conference papers, and dissertations concerning general and comparative literature, linguistics in general and of all modern languages, all modern literatures (including literature in English), and folklore. No abstracts are provided, and there are no listings for book reviews.

American Humanities Index
What: Indexes more than 500 English language literary, scholarly and artistic journals and magazines.

Canadian Databases

Canadian Business and Current Affairs (CBCA)
What: covers Canadian academic, general interest, and industry periodicals published from 1982 to the present

Canadian Periodicals Index (CPI.Q)
What: includes articles published from 1988 to the present in Canadian and international journals, magazines, newspapers, and other references covering a broad range of topics, from current affairs and technology to arts and culture, geography, history, business, and more.

Print Periodical Indexes

Quick Searching Tip: Under the last name of your author, search in each volume, beginning with the earliest date when your author could have written or when the literary work was first published.

Canadian Literature Index
What: Major articles and book reviews by author, editor or topic.
Where: PS 8071.4 C2 Rutherford N Flr 1 Indexes

Canadian Periodical Index
What: Canadian interdisciplinary periodicals: look for book reviews, poems, moving picture reviews, Canadian drama, and short stories headings.
Where: AI 3 C21 Rutherford N Flr 1 Indexes

British Humanities Index
What: Over 320 internationally respected humanities journals and weekly magazines published in the UK and other English speaking countries, as well as quality newspapers published in the UK.
Where: AI 3  B86 Rutherford N Flr 1 Indexes

Humanities Index
What: Feature articles, book reviews, interviews, obituaries, bibliographies, original works of fiction (including dramas and poems), and reviews of plays and television and radio programs  from 500 periodicals.  It excludes editorials, letters to the editor, news, ephemeral announcements, cartoons, and advertising.
Where: AI H92 Rutherford N Flr 1 Indexes

Book reviews

Book reviews will usually appear one year after a book itself is published.  Here are print and electronic resources for finding book reviews.  Print resources are located in Rutherford North floor 1 on the Index tables.

Canadian Business & Current Affairs (CBCA)
What: (1982 to the present) includes reviews of books, movies, music, theatre, software, and the arts.

Humanities Abstracts
What: (1984 to the present) Over 400 abstracts international English-language periodicals in the humanities.

Book Index with Reviews

Book Review index Online Plus 

Book Review Digest
What: United States book reviews of fiction and non-fiction. Access is by author, title, and subject. Includes excerpts of the reviews.
Where: Rutherford North Floor 1 Index Tables Z 1219 B72

Book Review Index
What: (Since 1965-) Provides author and title indexes, but no excerpts of the reviews.
Where: Rutherford North Floor 1 Index Tables Z 1035 A1 B73

Combined Retrospective Index to Book Reviews in Humanities Journals, 1802-1974
Where: Rutherford North Floor 1 Index Tables Z 1035 A1 C7 1982

Combined Retrospective Index to Book Reviews in Scholarly Journals, 1886-1974
Where: Rutherford North Floor 1 Index Tables Z 1035  A1 C72 1979