English Subject Guide

Primary Databases

  • FirstSearch
    • A large collection of databases, some are full text. Search each of the following databases or seach by journal title to see which database indexes your specific title.
      • ArticleFirst
      • BookReview
      • Essay and General Literature Index
      • HumanitiesAbs
      • WilsonSelectPlus
  • MLA (CSA)
  • Blackwell Fulltext Journals
    • A fulltext journal collection of over 800 journals from Blackwell Publishing covering a wide range of subject areas such as business, computing, economics, health sciences, humanities, law, life and physical sciences, mathematics, medicine, social and behavioral sciences, and the arts.
  • Duke University Press Journals
    • full-text access to over twenty journals in the humanities and social sciences.
  • Expanded Academic ASAP (InfoTrac)
    • An Infotrac database filled with full text and images for a broad collection of academic disciplines.
  • Gale Literary Database
    • Full-text access to Contemporary Authors, Contemporary Literary Criticism, and Dictionary of Literary Biography.
  • JSTOR
    • The Arts & Sciences I Collection includes 119 complete back runs of many of the core research and society published journals in economics, history, political science, sociology, ecology, mathematics, and statistics, as well as in other key fields in the humanities and social sciences. See the journal list
    • Linguistics and Language Behavior AbstractsCSA's database that covers all aspects of the study of language insluding phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics. Complete coverage is also given to various fields of linguistics including descriptive, historical, comparative, theoretical and geographical linguistics. (See Journal Titles list.)
  • LitFinder
    • vast database providing access to poetry, short stories, and essays.
  • Project Muse (for on-campus users)
    • Provides online, worldwide, institutional subscription access to the full-text of about 200 scholarly journals in the arts and humanities, social sciences, and mathematics. (See Journal Titles list.)
  • Thomson Gale Powersearch (formerly Infotrac)
    • These include Ancestry Plus, Computer Database, Expanded Academic ASAP, General BusinessFile ASAP, General Reference Center Gold, Health & Wellness Resource Center and Alternative Health Module, Health Reference Center Academic, Infotrac 150 Full Text Custom Newspapers (including the Grand Rapids Press), Infotrac OneFile, Junior Edition, Kids InfoBits, Kid's Edition - K-12, LegalTrac, Michigan Newspapers, New York Times, Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center, Professional Collection, and Student Edition.

Secondary Databases

Other Resources

  • Opposing Viewpoints
    • Overviews, full-text articles, statistics, and resources on social issues.
  • RefWorks
    • A personal database that allows you to download references from online databases and then formats them for use in bibliographies and research papers. You will need to create an individual account the first time you use this service. Click here for Help Using RefWorks.
  • Ulrich's Periodical Directory
    • Online guide to information about periodicals. Use this to find out if a periodical is peer reviewed (called refereed in this database).

Recommended Websites

    • Allows for searching and online access to fiction, non-fiction, verse, quotations, encyclopedias, and dictionaries.
    • Provides up to date news on English and Grammar as used in today's world.  Offers quizes and lesson plans for teachers of English and TESOL.
    • This website offers pronunciation charts, lesson plans, and quizzes. It also discusses the use of English globally and what that means for speakers and teachers of English.
    • A project hosted by George Mason University, this website provides phonetic examples of all varities of English language accents from both native and non-native speakers around the globe.  An interactive map allows users to choose regions and then hear sound clips of that region's accent. Especially interesting to teachers of English as a second language or those interested in linguistics.