French Language & Literature: Article Search

Need Help?

Why Articles?

Articles appear in magazines, journals, periodicals, and newspapers. Use articles for:

most recent research on a topic
coverage of very narrow topics
coverage of current events
contemporary accounts of past events and research

Search Strategies

Write down research questions for your topic and underline key concepts and keywords. Think of broader or narrower terms depending on what search results you retrieve from those concepts and keywords.

Think of synonyms and alternative terms to search and refer to a Thesaurus for more ideas.

Remember that most databases have a list of suggested subject terms. By choosing these, you can focus your search on articles most closely related to what you are searching for.

Scholarly sources for language, literature & culture

The databases below provide strong coverage of scholarly journals in the fields of language and literary studies (some are already indexed in Quick Search, but some are not).

Many contain material in foreign languages, including French. For more databases that provide access to material in French, click here.

Art Abstracts from EBSCO This link opens in a new window
Indexes art journals, including museum bulletins and published images, from 1984. Abstracts 1994-present.
Indexes Art Index vol. 33-present. See Art Retrospective for vols. 1-32.

BHA and RILA
Comprehensive bibliography of scholarly writing about the history of Western art from late antiquity to the modern age. Covers material published from 1975 - 2007.
more...less...
BHA indexes and abstracts articles, books, conference proceedings, dissertations, exhibition and dealers' catalogs on the fine arts—painting, sculpture, drawing, prints, and architecture—as well as decorative and applied arts. Foreign publications are included. List of journals indexed.
Through 1989, entries in this database are drawn from RILA (International Repertory of the Literature of Art). In 1990, RILA merged with RAA (Repertoire d'Art et d'Archeologie) to form BHA. It is produced by the Getty Research Institute and the Institut de l’Information Scientifique et Technique in France.

Humanities in ProQuest from ProQuest This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Guest Access
Searches magazine and journal articles in the arts and humanities. 7000+ sources, mostly full-text from 1986 - present.
Humanities International Complete from EBSCO This link opens in a new window
Searches 2,000+ humanities journals and and books from U.S. and international sources. Includes creative works including poetry, fiction, and works of art.
International Medieval Bibliography from University of Leeds This link opens in a new window
Index of articles, reviews, and notes on medieval studies. A comprehensive, standard source. 1967-2003.
Using familiar, multilingual terminology defined by professional medievalists for medievalists, this database employs 120,000 index terms classified into six types (subjects, persons, texts, places, manuscripts, etc.). Covers publications in over 30 languages. Relevant to Classics, English language and literature, History and archaeology, Theology, Philosophy, Medieval European languages and literatures, Arabic and Islamic studies, Art history, etc.. Coverage begins in 1967.
MLA International Bibliography from EBSCO This link opens in a new window
Index of scholarship on modern languages, literature, folklore, and linguistics. 4,000+ journals and 1,000+ book publishers covered. Some full-text. 1925-present.
Periodicals Archive Online from ProQuest This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Full-text of English and foreign language journals in the humanities and social science. 1800-1995.
Project Muse from Muse This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Searches journals (approximately 600 titles) and books from over 120 publishers worldwide, often in full-text. Emphasis on humanities and social sciences.

Scholarly sources for history

The two big databases are America History & Life and Historical Abstracts: both index articles about history going back to 1492, but they are complimentary in their geographic scope. America History & Life covers the 'new world' of the North American colonies and their later emergence as nations. Historical Abstracts covers the 'old world', Europe and Africa.

In addition to these two databases, below you'll see information about some specialized resources. Some are only in print (apologies!).

America History and Life from EBSCO This link opens in a new window
Guest Access
Indexes scholarship on American and Canadian history and culture. Provides some full-text. 1964-present.

Bibliographie Annuelle de l'Histoire de France
Only available in print Located in Storage; available by request.

Historical Abstracts from EBSCO This link opens in a new window
Guest Access
The standard indexing service for academic historical writings on all areas of the world, except the United States and Canada. Covers items published from 1972 to present.

International African bibliography
Marqcat record.

An index to "current books, articles and papers in African studies".

International Medieval Bibliography from University of Leeds This link opens in a new window
Index of articles, reviews, and notes on medieval studies. A comprehensive, standard source. 1967-2003.
Using familiar, multilingual terminology defined by professional medievalists for medievalists, this database employs 120,000 index terms classified into six types (subjects, persons, texts, places, manuscripts, etc.). Covers publications in over 30 languages. Relevant to Classics, English language and literature, History and archaeology, Theology, Philosophy, Medieval European languages and literatures, Arabic and Islamic studies, Art history, etc.. Coverage begins in 1967.

Persée
A free portal to French "scientific journals in the field of the humanities. The entire printed collection of journals is digitized and published online ..." There are also theses, dissertations, and other formats of material.
Dates of coverage vary; in addition, the publisher or journal distributor may choose to determine a recent time span, between 2 and 5 years, during which the issues will not be freely available on the internet.
more...less...
Roughly analogous to JSTOR ...

Databases for French language sources

In addition to the databases listed above for language and literature, below are some other databases that have foreign language content. Their subject emphases vary.

EconLit from ProQuest This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Searches citations and some full-text of economic research publications: includes journal articles; books, book chapters and book reviews; working papers; dissertations. 1969 - present.
An expanded version of the Journal of Economic Literature (JEL), produced by the American Economic Association. Covers both economic theory and application.
JSTOR from JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Guest Access
Broad collection of full-text scholarly journals (approximately 2700 titles). Discipline coverage uneven and usually does not include the most-recent three years.
Nexis Uni from Lexis Nexis This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Search using French keywords, but use English command words (e.g. 'and', 'or')
Formerly Lexis Nexis Academic Universe.
It includes regional, national, and international newspapers; magazines; wire services; business publications (trade journals, corporate annual reports, tax sources); legal resources (law reviews, court cases, briefs, federal and state codes); government documents; medical information (medical journals); and reference sources (directories, biographical information). Coverage varies by title; very good coverage from the early 1990s to present, with some coverage as early as the mid-1970s.
PAIS Index from ProQuest This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Search for a wide range of documents related to current events, public policy, and social sciences. 1972 to present.
Indexes books, pamphlets, and publications of the U.S. government and of international organizations, in addition to selected articles in 1400 periodicals.

Persée
A free portal to French "scientific journals in the field of the humanities. The entire printed collection of journals is digitized and published online ..." There are also theses, dissertations, and other formats of material.
Dates of coverage vary; in addition, the publisher or journal distributor may choose to determine a recent time span, between 2 and 5 years, during which the issues will not be freely available on the internet.
more...less...
Roughly analogous to JSTOR ...

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.