Recommended Databases

Image: screen shot of Cornell Library Catalog Database prompt

The Articles & Full Text feature on the main Library web page allows you to perform simple searches across multiple databases. Because the various databases are structured differently, search results may vary widely. For more precise searching, it's best to search the databases individually. Clicking on the Databases link will display a listing by subject area. For options sorted by subject, see the Databases subjects list. Here are a few suggested databases to try:

  • Earth, atmospheric & aquatic science database
    The Earth, Atmospheric & Aquatic Science Database includes the renowned MGA, ASFA, and WRA databases, and provides full-text titles from around the world including scholarly journals, trade and industry journals, magazines, technical reports, conference proceedings, government publications, and more. 
  • Wildlife & ecology studies worldwide

    Index to scientific and management literature on wild mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians from journals, conference proceedings, theses, dissertations and other publications. Major topic areas include studies of individual species, habitat types, hunting, economics, wildlife behavior, management techniques, diseases, ecotourism, zoology, and taxonomy.

  • Web of science

    Web of Science - All Databases indexes core journal articles, conference proceedings, data sets, and other resources in the sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities.

  • JSTOR
    JSTOR is a fully-searchable database containing the back issues of several hundred scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences, mathematics, music, ecology and botany, business, and other fields. It includes the following collections: Arts & sciences I, II and III, General science, Ecology and botany, Business, Language and literature.

Finding Articles

To find articles on specific topics, start with an article database that covers many subject areas. Searches in databases like Academic Search Premier, LexisNexis Academic, ProQuest or Web of Science provide citations and/or full-text articles. When you find an article that is particularly relevant to your topic, note the references in the bibliography and see if Cornell has any of the journals listed.

To find specific articles, you need the citation (author, title, journal, volume, issue, date). Search the Library Catalog by the journal title. If full-text is available electronically, click on the link to the database providing access to the journal. Each database's search function works differently. Generally, once you are in the database, search by article title or author to locate the article.

See this Article Search Tips guide for more information on locating articles using library resources

Finding Full-Text Articles

Get It Cornell

Use the Get it! Cornell links wherever you see them!

If you have citations for specific articles, check the Library Catalog to see if we subscribe to the journal that contains the article. The Catalog will show whether or not we have access to the electronic version and/or the print version. 

If we don't have it, we can get it for you for free in a few days! Request materials through Borrow Direct or Interlibrary Loan by clicking the Request Item button.