Philosophy: Article Search

A gateway and guide to research resources for PHILOSOPHY--especially e-resources.

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Evaluating Articles

Evaluate articles by:

Purpose: Is the purpose to inform, entertain, persuade or educate?
Objectivity: Are various sides or points-of-view represented?
Author: Does the author have expertise on the topic?
Date: Is the information current or timely for your topic?
Bibliography: Are the sources of information cited completely and accurately?

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Article Databases

Databases provide a systematic method of searching for articles and other documents on your topic. Some databases include full text of the documents they index, but many do not. The top databases for philosophy are:

Philosopher's Index from ProQuest This link opens in a new window
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Index of a broad spectrum of philosophical sources, including more than 1,600 journals; books and anthologies; and more. Mostly 1940 - present.
Provides global coverage, with source publications from more than 135 countries, and in more than 35 languages.
PhilPapers from The PhilPapers Foundation This link opens in a new window
PhilPapers is an index of philosophy books and articles featuring real-time indexing of pre-prints, fine-grained classification by topic, email alerts, reading lists, advanced search functionality, and discussion forums.

Philosophy Online from Philosophy Documentation Center This link opens in a new window
Searchable full-text of over 80 philosophy journals; full-text for many. Dates of coverage vary by title.
Formerly called Poeisis.
JSTOR from JSTOR This link opens in a new window
archive of scholarly journal articles. Check out this 5 minute online video with tips for using JSTOR, and here's another online video with tips for doing advanced searches in JSTOR.
Periodicals Archive Online from ProQuest This link opens in a new window
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Full-text of English and foreign language journals in the humanities and social science. 1800-1995.

Oxford Bibliographies Online--Philosophy

OBO--Philosophy
--combines the best features of a high-level encyclopedia and a traditional bibliography:
◾Expert recommendations on the best works available on over 225 philosophical topics and individual philosophers – whether it be a chapter, a book, a journal article, a website – streamline the research process
◾Each subject area is overseen by editors and peer reviewers, ensuring a balanced perspective with scholarly accuracy, authority, and objectivity
◾Each article includes an introduction written by a top scholar in the field and is an authoritative guide to the current scholarship with original commentary and annotations by top scholars
◾Linking and discoverability tools help users quickly locate full text content to prevent dead ends
◾Allows users to sign in to create a personalized list of citations with their own notes and annotations
◾Up-to-Date and Expanding

Tutorial video--"Tips for using OBO--Philosophy"

Getting the Articles

Here's a short video showing how Find it @ MU works. (About 4 minutes long.)

Two common ways to find out if the Libraries have access to the articles you need:

1) You are searching in an article database, but it doesn't have the full-text:

Click on in the article citation. Another window / tab opens with two possible options:

Links indicating Find it @MU may have located one or more sources for full text of the article. Click on the links and follow the trail to the article.
Links to search MARQCAT by the journal title or its ISSN number. The journal may be available in print or electronically through a source not searchable by Find it @MU.

2) You already have a specific citation and aren't currently searching in a database:

Use MARQCAT's Advanced Search to search for the journal title.

The MARQCAT record will indicate what years we have in print and/or online, providing call number locations for the print and links to the e-journal. Once at the e-journal, navigate to the volume, issue and page that you need.

Questions:

Didn't find the article/journal using Find it @MU or MARQCAT? Request the article through Interlibrary Loan (ILL) by clicking on the link at the bottom of the Find it @MU window or tab. Learn more about ILL here.

Ever wonder why the full-text isn't there? Watch this short video about the Business of Information.