Databases for Modern Languages

What are databases and why should I use them?
Databases can help you to find out what's been written on a topic you're researching. They're particularly useful for helping you to trace journal articles in your subject area, but usually cover other publications as well such as book chapters, reports, Web sites. Further help on using databases can be found in the guide Finding journal articles for Modern Languages

Will databases give me complete journal articles?
Full-text articles are available from several databases, but most databases provide abstracts (summaries).
When searching a database, you will often see the LinkSource iconLinkSource icon next to a reference. You can click on this to check whether the article is available as an e-journal and then link to it. Alternatively you can check our Library Catalogue to see whether we have the item you want.

Can I access these databases from home?
Most of our databases are available on and off campus. NB In order to access most electronic resources from home, you need to log into Athens first. Check our guide to Logging into Athens for tips.

Which are the best databases for me to use for Modern Languages?
Many databases cover a wide range of international journals including much foreign language material. In most cases, you'll need to use a database that covers your subject area of interest e.g. politics, literature. It may be possible to limit your search to material in a specific language.

The databases listed below are only a selection of the services we subscribe to. You can also view a list of Databases for French Studies and Databases for Japanese Studies. If you need further help, please contact the Subject Librarian for Languages

Electronic newspapers and magazines for Languages

Factiva is an international news database providing an archive of 10,000 sources from 152 countries in 22 languages. It covers foreign language newspapers and journals, including:

  • French titles such as L´Entreprise, L'Expansion, L´Express, L'Humanité, L'Indépendant, Libération, Le Point, Le Temps, La Tribune and many others.
  • Japanese titles such as The Daily Yomiuri, The Japan Times, Kabushiki Shimbun, Mainichi Shimbun, The Nikkei Weekly, Sankei Shimbun and more. Searches can be made in Japanese if your keyboard has the capability.
  • Spanish sources such as ABC, Cinco Dias, El Correo, Expansion, El Mundo, El Pais (1995-) and others.

Note that Factiva is a huge database so it is best to put limits on your search:

  • To search Factiva for articles from a specific source, e.g. 'Kabushiki Shimbun'
    • Click on 'Source'.
    • Type the newspaper title in the 'Find a Source' box.
  • If you want to search through all French or Japanese publications on the database, for example:
    • Click on 'Source'.
    • To locate French sources, use the ‘Select Source Category’ drop-down menu to select Publications – By Region. From the list of regions, click on the + box next to ‘European countries’, then the + box next to Western European Countries, then click on France to add it to your search.
    • To find Japanese publications, use the ‘Select Source Category’ drop-down menu to select Publications – By Region. From the list of regions, click on the + box next to ‘Asia’, then the + box next to ‘Eastern Asian Countries’, then click on Japan to add it to your search
    • The default Language setting is to look for articles in English. To change this, first click on English to remove it from your search. Next, click on 'Language' and select French or Japanese from the list, as appropriate, to add it to your search.
    • Type your French or Japanese keywords in the 'Free text' box.

    You can use this approach for finding sources from any country.

Electronic dictionaries and language databases

  • Oxford language dictionaries online is a collection of fully searchable bilingual dictionaries in French, Chinese, Spanish, and Italian, giving over 1.2 million words and phrases, and over 2 million translations. The database also includes a wide range of language learning resources and study materials.
  • Oxford Reference Online is a collection of Oxford University Press reference books, including English and foreign language dictionaries.

Other useful databases

  • Academic Search Complete multi-disciplinary Web database offering full text access to more than 5,300 journals, including more than 4,400 peer-reviewed journals. It also has abstracts from more than 4,000 additional periodicals, plus some books, reports and conference proceedings. You can limit your results to publications in a specific language.
  • ATLA Religion Database - produced by the American Theological Library Association. Provides index of articles from over 600 journals covering theology & religion, so this database may be useful for Japanese Studies. It also includes book reviews and multi-author essay collections and full-text access is available for many referenced items.
  • Bridgeman Education - a digital image library covering visual culture of all civilisations and historical periods from pre-historic to the present day.
  • Business Source Complete Web database containing full text articles, plus some abstracts. Covers management, economics, finance, accounting & business.
  • Communication & mass media complete - provides full text links to more than 200 journals and indexes many more. Covers film studies, language studies, linguistics & media.
  • Education Image Gallery : quality images for free use in learning, teaching and research. Covers a wide range of subjects and is regularly updated.
  • Emerald Fulltext Web database giving full text articles from business & education journals.
  • Historical abstracts Major history database.
  • Index to Theses Web database listing theses accepted for higher degrees by the Universities of Great Britain and Ireland.
  • IBSS - International Bibliography of the Social Sciences - international social sciences including sociology, politics, economics & anthropology.
  • The International index of performing arts, or IIPA, contains containing over a third of a million references to journal articles on all areas of the performing arts including film, television, theatre, dance & music. There are detailed abstracts available for everything published since 1998, though references go back to the mid-nineteenth century.
  • JSTOR This database provides an archive of full-text articles from a range of academic journals on all subjects. The Library has access to the full JSTOR Collection. For a list of the journal titles covered in these collections, click on About JSTOR on the JSTOR home page and choose the top link Currently Available Collections. Note that most journals covered do not give access to issues which are less than 3-5 years old. To look for articles in a specific language, select Advanced Search, then choose the drop-down box next to Article Language to limit your search to that language.
  • MLA international bibliography - a key database for literature. Also covers language studies, linguistics and folklore.
  • Sociological abstracts covers social issues.
  • Web of Science consists of 3 Citation Indexes: Arts and Humanities Citation Index (1975-); Social Science Citation Index (1970-) and Science Citation Index Expanded (1970-). The database covers a wide range of sources, including foreign language publications, and is updated weekly. Abstracts are included for many records. Web of Science is a particularly useful source for finding out about previous research in your subject area and for keeping up to date with currrent research.

Remember that the databases listed here are only a selection of the services we subscribe to. If you need further help, please contact the Subject Librarian for Modern Languages