UCC Library: English: Journals & Databases

Finding Journals & E-journals

Find specific electronic journals and e-books by searching the E-Journals Portal

Search the Library Catalogue to find printed journals

What is an Academic Journal?

A 'journal' or 'periodical' or 'serial' = any publication published regularly (includes magazines, newspapers, newsletters).

A ‘scholarly’ or 'academic’ journal: periodical containing research articles, that is peer-reviewed, and aimed at researchers.

Peer review: every paper/article submitted to the journal is reviewed by independent experts. Papers are accepted/rejected based on quality.

Databases to Start With:

The following are a good starting-point for a thorough literature search:

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
Academic Search Complete is a scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database. The database features PDF content dating back as far as 1887, with the majority of full text titles in searchable PDF format.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
JSTOR provides a comprehensive digital archive of important scholarly journals. It offers multidisciplinary and discipline-specific collections that include complete runs of journals as well as select monographs, transactions, and conference proceedings.
Access is available to the following collections: the 19th Century British Pamphlets Collection, the Arts and Sciences I to XV Collections, Business IV Collection, Global Plants Collection, Hebrew Journals Collection, the Ireland Collection, the Life Sciences Collection, Lives of Literature Collection, Public Health Journals Collection, Security Studies Collection and Sustainability Collection.

Languages & Literature Resources on JSTOR
Guide from JSTOR on using the database for languages & literature resources

Literature Online This link opens in a new window
Literature Online runs from the 8th Century to the 21st Century and includes 350,000 works of poetry, drama and prose, as well as articles from over 430 journals.
MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
The MLA International Bibliography is the definitive index for the study of language, literature, linguistics, rhetoric and composition, folklore, and film, covering scholarly publications from the early 20th century to the present. International in scope, it includes citations to journal articles, books, articles in books, series, translations, scholarly editions, websites, and dissertations, with links to full text in JSTOR, Project MUSE and other resources.
Project MUSE This link opens in a new window
Project MUSE was launched in 1995 by the Johns Hopkins University Press to offer the full text of JHUP scholarly journals online. In 1999, Muse expanded to become a unique partnership of not-for-profit publishers, increasing its ability to offer essential periodicals in the humanities, the arts, and the social sciences.
This resource provides access to the full text of over 800 journal titles.
ProQuest Databases This link opens in a new window
This is an A-Z list of most of our ProQuest databases. These resources provide access to millions of full text articles from thousands of scholarly journals, as well as access to more than 50,000 full text dissertations.

The JSTOR Understanding series is a research tool from JSTOR Labs that connects primary texts with journal articles and book chapters on JSTOR that cite those texts. It includes ten key works of British literature, the King James Bible, and all Shakespeare plays and sonnets. Further information here.

Theses & Newspapers

For access to UCC theses and theses from other Universities have a look at the Theses Guide. For information about Newspapers in UCC Library, and newspapers available through Library databases, see the Newspapers Guide.

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I This link opens in a new window
Central authoritative resource for North American theses with significant European content. This database is the world’s most comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses from around the world, spanning from 1743 to the present day. To note, this database also includes the most comprehensive available record of doctoral theses from the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Access to:
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I: Business
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I: Health & Medicine
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I: History
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I: Literature & Language
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I: Science & Technology
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I: Social Sciences
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I: The Arts