Databases for French Studies

  • The Library subscribes to various databases that you can use for finding sources on a topic. Most databases are designed to help you to trace academic journal articles, but we also have databases covering other sources such as newspapers, language dictionaries, films and TV. Log in when prompted with your Brookes username and password. 

    Help with finding articles and searching databases:

    • Factiva is an international news database and a key resource for French Studies. It covers French newspapers and magazines such as L´Entreprise, L'Expansion, L´Express, L'Humanité, L'Indépendant, Libération, Le Point, Le Temps, La Tribune and many others.

      Tips on searching Factiva :

      • To search Factiva for articles from a specific publication e.g. 'Libération', click on 'Source' and type the publication title in the 'Find a Source' box.
      • If you want to search through all French publications, click on 'Source', then use the ‘Select Source Category’ drop-down menu to select Publications – By Region. Browse through the regions and countries, then click on France 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 from the list to add it to your search.
      • For further tips, check this PDF guide How to search Factiva
      Box of Broadcasts (BoB) - this service gives you access to thousands of recorded radio and TV programmes including films from an online archive.  It allows users to record programmes which will then be stored on the database. A few European channels have recently been added to the service. First-time users will be prompted to register. You can search for programmes already recorded, view the programme guide and also search for playlists and create your own. Take a look at the playlist called ‘French cinema Oxford Brookes’ which includes a range of French films. 
      • Academic Search Complete - covers all subject areas and can be a good starting point for researching any topic. It offers full text access to thousands of journals. You can limit your search results to publications in a specific language.
      • 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 - key business database which contains 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.
      • Discover is a service which searches our Library Catalogue and many – though not all – of our electronic resources. A search on Discover will bring up books, journal articles and a variety of other sources.
      • Emerald Fulltext gives full text articles from business & education academic journals.
      • Historical abstracts Major history database.
      • IBSS - International Bibliography of the Social Sciences - international social sciences including sociology, politics, economics & anthropology.
      • Performing Arts Database - key database for articles on film, theatre, television and other performing arts. Much of the content is full text. 
      • JSTOR This database provides an archive of full-text articles from a range of academic journals on all subjects. 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.
      • Sociological abstracts covers social issues.
      •   Web of Science - despite its name, this database covers all subject areas. It's particularly useful for tracking citations to key articles. On Web of Science you can view an article and see a list of the author’s 'Cited References' - those sources that influenced the author. You can also see the article's influence on subsequent publications via the 'Times Cited' option.  Find out more.