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HIST 4314/5314 - American Civil War

Finding Databases

Choosing the right database (or databases) depends on your needs or interests.

  • If you know which database(s) you want or need, you can choose Database List and click on the letter that corresponds to the database name. Then pick the database name.
  • If you know the subject or field of study you need, such as medicine or education, you can choose Database List and then click on the Database List by Subject. The subject areas have the databases appropriate to that field of study.
  • If you know the name of the journal you want to find articles in, then return to the library home page and select Journal Search to see if we have the journal available online in full-text. If we do, then you can search for topics from within that journal.

Searching Cardinal OneSearch

Accessing Databases

1. Start at the library’s home page: http://library.lamar.edu.

2. Click Database List.

3. Select the letter that corresponds to the database you want or click on the link to the subject listing.

4. Click on the name of the database you want to search

5. Sign in with your LEA username and password.

Searching the Databases

Once you’re in a database, search for key words and terms related to your topic. Each database has search options, so become familiar with them. Most will be common among the databases, such as: Full Text, Scholarly (Peer-Reviewed), and Date Range.

The search results will be a list of article citations. Many databases provide full-text articles, so the article will be available to read, print, or download. Articles available as PDF or full page image will be scans of the original articles. HTML or plain text articles will include just the text from the articles.

Finding Journal Articles in Databases

Scholarly vs. Popular

Journals

Any title with issues published periodically.  Two main types are:

Scholarly-lengthy research articles written by academics and professionals in the field and are peer-reviewed prior to publication.

Popular-news magazines and other publications with brief articles designed for general readers.

See the Indexes section for paper and electronic indexes used for locating articles on historical topics.  Browsing periodicals is not recommended as the most efficient way to locate articles since they are located throughout the collection. 

 Older years of Periodicals are located in the STACKS of Gray Library or in Microforms (film or fiche). Current issues are located on the 2nd floor in Periodicals/Reserves