Research Guides: *English: Articles

Databases for Literature and Related Subjects

Use these databases to find articles on English Literature and Language.

To find the full text of the article, click on a link to the full text or the button in the database. Many journals are available online, but some are in the Libraries' print collection. Articles from journals not available at FSU may be requested through interlibrary loan.

MLA International Bibliography
Multilingual index to books and journals in the fields of literature, languages, linguistics, and folklore from 1926-present

Literature Resource Center
Provides access to biographies, bibliographies and critical analysis of authors from every age and literary discipline. Includes Contemporary Authors, Dictionary of Literary Biography, and Contemporary Literary Criticism Select.
International Index to Performing Arts
A performing arts journal resource with over half a million indexed articles, plus detailed abstracts and full text from 1864 to the present, covering theatre, dance and film.
Film and Television Literature Index
Film & Television Literature Index is a comprehensive bibliographic database covering the entire spectrum of television and film writing.

Is it scholarly?

Scholarly sources can generally be identified by several features:

Content: Is the topic of the article academic?
Audience: Is the article written for a reader who is knowledgable about the topic?
Language: Does the author use higher level language and discipline-specific terminology?
Intent: Is the purpose of the article to report findings of a research project, present a case study, make an argument about a topic based on supporting evidence or research, etc?
Authorship: Are the qualifications of the author listed? For scholarly articles look for advanced degree(s) as well as experience writing and/or researching on the topic.
Peer-review: Is the article peer-reviewed or refereed? This means material is evaluated by experts and only published if it meets the discipline's standards.
References: Does the author support his or her findings with references to other scholarly research in footnotes, endnotes or a bibliography at the end?

Still not sure if your article is scholarly? Check to see if the journal is listed as refereed in Ulrich's Serials Directory.

This list was inspired by the many such lists available on library websites, especially that of Judith Downie at California State University San Marcos