LibGuides: English Nonfiction Writing Program: General Library Resources

Getting Started

These are some of the most common, general interest databases to which the Brown Library subscribes. Many more can be found by using the link in the box below.

Academic Search Complete
Provides full-text access to more than 8,500 full text periodicals, including more than 7,300 peer-reviewed journals.

Current; scholarly, multidisciplinary full text database, designed for the academic community with more than 8,500 full text periodicals, including more than 7,300 peer-reviewed journals.

Pew Research Center
Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Web Of Science
Provides access to scientific, social science, and humanities research; along with forward and backward citation searching capabilities, 1900-present
International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS)
Provides cross-disciplinary coverage across the social sciences, focused on anthropology, economics, political science, and sociology

1951-present; International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS) includes over 3 million bibliographic references to journal articles and to books, reviews and selected chapters. It is unique in its broad coverage of international material and incorporates over 100 languages and countries. It provides cross-disciplinary coverage across the social sciences, focused on four primary subject areas: anthropology, economics, political science and sociology.
SocINDEX with Full Text
Provides access to 2,989 active indexed and abstracted journals and 2,860 active peer-reviewed indexed and abstracted journals, 1895-present.

1895-present; SocINDEX with Full Text is a comprehensive sociology research database. This product contains informative abstracts for more than 620 "core" coverage journals dating back to 1895. In addition, SocINDEX with Full Text provides data mined from more than 500 "priority" coverage journals as well as over 1,390 "selective" coverage journals. Includes extensive indexing for books, monographs, conference papers, and other sources. Searchable cited references are also provided. SocINDEX with Full Text offers coverage from all subdisciplines of sociology, including abortion, anthropology, criminology, criminal justice, cultural sociology, demography, economic development, ethnic & racial studies, gender studies, marriage & family, politics, religion, rural sociology, social psychology, social structure, social work, sociological theory, sociology of education, substance abuse, urban studies, violence, welfare, and many others.
PubMed (MEDLINE)
PubMed is the freely available interface for MEDLINE, the largest biomedical literature database in the world. PubMed offers millions of citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, full text from PubMed Central, and online books, from the 1800s-present. Use the Brown University link to access full text subscriptions through the University library.

Researching Other Subject Areas

Your best bet is to take a look at the subject guide that most closely aligns with your research interest. The Brown Library subscribes to a wealth of subject-specific material.

All Resource Guides

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Brown subscribes to a number of online dictionaries and encyclopedias, as well as databases of reference works.

Online Dictionaries
Subscription databases to various subject related dictionaries.
Online Encyclopedias
Subscription databases to various subject related encyclopedias.

Biographies

Find out more about the people in your essay. Brown subscribes to a number of online collective biographies.

Collective Biographies
Listing of biographical databases licensed by the Brown Library.

About Primary Sources

What is a primary source?

A primary source is a document, image, artifact, or dataset that provides first-hand testimony or direct evidence concerning the object of research.

Why should I use primary sources?

You should use this type of source to provide evidence for your thesis or the basis of your interpretation on a topic.

What are some examples of primary sources?

Primary sources may include, but are not limited to, artwork, correspondence, diaries, interviews, literary texts, material artifacts, newspapers, speeches, statistics, and videos.

About Secondary Sources

What is a secondary source?

A secondary source is a scholarly discussion based on primary sources. Typically, a secondary source contains original research.

Why should I use secondary sources?

Secondary sources are useful for in-depth analysis of your topic and for learning about scholarly perspectives on your topic. You can use a secondary source as a conversation partner about a topic or you can take the methodology from a secondary source an apply it to a new research question.

What are some examples of secondary sources?

Secondary sources include articles, blogs, books (often called monographs), lectures, podcasts, and scientific reports. Any kind of scholarly literature can be a secondary source.

Pro tip: Although the distinction between primary sources and secondary sources is useful, it is not absolute. A secondary source may become a primary source depending on the researcher's perspective. Consider a textbook on American history from the 1990's. If a researcher uses the textbook for a scholarly perspective on the civil rights movement, then it is a secondary source. However, if the researcher uses the textbook to as evidence of curriculum in the 1990's, then it is a primary source.

About Reference Sources

What is a reference source?

A reference source summarizes and synthesizes secondary sources. Typically, a reference source does not contain original research. These sources provide important background and contextual information on your subject.

Why should I use reference sources?

You should use this type of source to help narrow your research topic, find data to support your thesis, and identify keywords and main ideas to use as search terms.

What are some examples of reference sources?

Reference sources generally include bibliographies, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and handbooks.