Databases are an excellent way to conduct searches for academic essays, book reviews and book chapters, as well as peer-reviewed journal articles. Some results will include books, images, and video. Although many databases include PDFs or full-text content, some are limited to just a record with a citation, subject descriptors, and occasionally a brief abstract of an article. The blue "Find It" button is the widget for getting you to the article, if the library has access to it. If you discover a reference and Falvey does not have online access to the content, use the ILLiad system to request it.
To run a search using a single set of terms in multiple EBSCO databases simultaneously, enter one and check the "choose databases" link above the search boxes. Then select all that you want to search at once. Be aware, even though getting lots of results is often desirable, not narrowing your focus typically returns a bewildering amount. Broad terms always increase the likelihood of an unmanageable number of results, and many times with a majority only vaguely related to your topic. So, be as intentional as possible in your choice of databases and use specific search terms. Always enclose a phrase in quotation marks.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
These are the databases most frequently recommended for doing academic research in the area of theology and religious studies. Access is limited to Villanova University researchers.
ATLAs PLUS (EBSCO)
Indexes academic journals, magazines, essays, books, book reviews in all fields of religious and theological studies back to the early 19th century, as well as Catholic Church documents compiled by the American Theological Library Association. Includes full text of academic journals. Brings together ATLA Religion Database, the Catholic Periodical and Literature Index, and enhanced full-text access to ATLASerials on a single platform. Coverage goes back to 1981.
Index Religiosus (Brepols)
Indexes academic journals, books, and book reviews in the fields of theology, religious sciences, and Church history. Covers publications written in the major European languages.
Index to the Study of Religions Online (Brill)
Indexes and abstracts articles published in a wide range of journals in the field of religion and related disciplines. All abstracts are in English. Articles are grouped by method and theory, religions in context by area, and textual and conceptual traditions. This database is the online version of the journal Science of Religion.
JSTOR
Provides a full text archive of academic journals and books in the humanities, social sciences, and mathematics. The most recent three to five years of a journal are usually not included.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context (Gale)
Access information on social issues through viewpoint articles, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, links to web sites and full text magazine and newspaper articles.
Philosopher's Index (EBSCO)
Provides indexing and abstracts to the scholarly literature in philosophy. Includes citations to journal articles, books, book chapters, and contributions to anthologies. International and interdisciplinary in scope; coverage is from 1940 to the present.
Philosophy Documentation Center Collection
Provides full text access to 110 scholarly philosophy journals and indexing information for 100 more. All content can also be found through the PhilPapers database when used on campus.
Project Muse
Provides full-text access to books and journals in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.
Religious and Theological Abstracts
Provides indexing and abstracts of the scholarly literature of theology and religion. Covers Christianity, Judaism, and other world religions. English language abstracts are provided for articles in English, Hebrew, Afrikaans, and major European languages.
World Christian Database (Brill)
Provides comprehensive statistical information on Christians and denominations world-wide.
World Religion Database: International Religious Demographic Statistics and Sources (Brill)
Contains detailed information on global religious affiliation; including census, survey and projection data.
ATLAs PLUS (EBSCO)
Indexes academic journals, magazines, essays, books, book reviews in all fields of religious and theological studies back to the early 19th century, as well as Catholic Church documents compiled by the American Theological Library Association. Includes full text of academic journals. Brings together ATLA Religion Database, the Catholic Periodical and Literature Index, and enhanced full-text access to ATLASerials on a single platform. Coverage goes back to 1981.
Index Religiosus (Brepols)
Indexes academic journals, books, and book reviews in the fields of theology, religious sciences, and Church history. Covers publications written in the major European languages.
Index to the Study of Religions Online (Brill)
Indexes and abstracts articles published in a wide range of journals in the field of religion and related disciplines. All abstracts are in English. Articles are grouped by method and theory, religions in context by area, and textual and conceptual traditions. This database is the online version of the journal Science of Religion.
JSTOR
Provides a full text archive of academic journals and books in the humanities, social sciences, and mathematics. The most recent three to five years of a journal are usually not included.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context (Gale)
Access information on social issues through viewpoint articles, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, links to web sites and full text magazine and newspaper articles.
Philosopher's Index (EBSCO)
Provides indexing and abstracts to the scholarly literature in philosophy. Includes citations to journal articles, books, book chapters, and contributions to anthologies. International and interdisciplinary in scope; coverage is from 1940 to the present.
Philosophy Documentation Center Collection
Provides full text access to 110 scholarly philosophy journals and indexing information for 100 more. All content can also be found through the PhilPapers database when used on campus.
Project Muse
Provides full-text access to books and journals in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.
Religious and Theological Abstracts
Provides indexing and abstracts of the scholarly literature of theology and religion. Covers Christianity, Judaism, and other world religions. English language abstracts are provided for articles in English, Hebrew, Afrikaans, and major European languages.
World Christian Database (Brill)
Provides comprehensive statistical information on Christians and denominations world-wide.
World Religion Database: International Religious Demographic Statistics and Sources (Brill)
Contains detailed information on global religious affiliation; including census, survey and projection data.
SPECIALIZED
These resources are important for specialized research in theology and religious studies. Some but not all are restricted to Villanova University researchers.
Année Philologique: Bibliography of the Classical World (Brepols)
Indexes and abstracts journal articles, books, book chapters, conference proceedings, and theses relating to all aspects of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations from 200 B.C. to roughly 800 A.D. Includes publications in many languages with abstracts in the major European languages. Coverage extends back to the early 20th century.
BIBLindex (French Institute of Christian Sources) Access Instructions
Provides a growing online inventory of biblical quotations and allusions, primarily from Early Greek and Latin Christian literature. Includes biblical texts written in both ancient and modern languages. The project goal is to create a searchable database of biblical quotations from all Christian literature of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages (from the beginning of the Common Era until 1400).
Biblical Bibliography of Lausanne - BiBIL (University of Lausanne)
Presents bibliographical data about books, monographs, serials, and journal articles on biblical and related studies. It has French, English and German search interfaces. Materials cataloged are in a variety of languages. The catalog record often includes an abstract and occasionally a link to the full text.
Catholic News Archive (Catholic Research Resources Alliance) Tutorial
Provides open access to selected U.S. Catholic newspapers from the early 19th century to the late 20th century.
Corpus Augustinianum Gissense: CAG-online (Zentrum für Augustinus-Forschung)
Provides digital access to all known works of Augustine of Hippo (354-430) in the original Latin. Includes a bibliographic database of secondary literature on Augustine's life and works.
Dead Sea Scrolls Electronic Library Biblical Texts (Brill)
Allows searches through high resolution photographs of the ancient fragments from the historical manuscript discovery, and texts derived from the fragments in Masoretic order, as well as providing English translations and full transcriptions of the Hebrew Scripture.
Dead Sea Scrolls Electronic Library Non-Biblical Texts (Brill)
Contains high resolution images of the fragments and all the texts from the Judean Desert manuscript discovery, in the original languages and in translation, which are not in the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible.
International Medieval Bibliography (Brepols)
Indexes and abstracts articles, book reviews, and book chapters. Covers all aspects of medieval studies within the date range of 400 to 1500 for the entire continent of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.
Iter Bibliography (University of Toronto)
Indexes academic journals, books, book chapters, book reviews, and dissertations pertaining to the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Covers the years 400 to 1700. Includes publications in the major European languages from the middle of the 19th century to the present.
New Testament Abstracts (EBSCO)
Offers abstracts of journal articles, books, reviews, and software on the New Testament and its historical milieu. Searchable by scripture citation in addition to keyword, author, title, subject, journal title, etc.
Old Testament Abstracts (EBSCO)
Offers abstracts of journal articles, books, essays, and software on the Old Testament (or Hebrew Bible). Searchable by scripture citation in addition to keyword, author, title, subject, journal title, etc.
Peshitta Online (Brill)
Presents the text and evidence of all known ancient manuscripts of the Syriac translation of the Hebrew Bible from the second century CE. This scholarly edition includes full introductions to the individual books.
RAMBI: The Index of Articles on Jewish Studies (National Library of Israel)
Indexes journal and magazine articles in various fields of Jewish studies. Covers articles in English, Hebrew, Yiddish, and the major European languages.
Vetus Latina Database (Brepols)
Provides access to citations in patristic writings to the Old Latin (pre-Vulgate) versions of the Bible, searchable by biblical book, chapter, and verse. Includes images of the index cards on which Abbot Joseph Denk collected these citations in the late 19th century. Collected by the Vetus Latina Institut in Beuron, Germany.
Année Philologique: Bibliography of the Classical World (Brepols)
Indexes and abstracts journal articles, books, book chapters, conference proceedings, and theses relating to all aspects of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations from 200 B.C. to roughly 800 A.D. Includes publications in many languages with abstracts in the major European languages. Coverage extends back to the early 20th century.
BIBLindex (French Institute of Christian Sources) Access Instructions
Provides a growing online inventory of biblical quotations and allusions, primarily from Early Greek and Latin Christian literature. Includes biblical texts written in both ancient and modern languages. The project goal is to create a searchable database of biblical quotations from all Christian literature of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages (from the beginning of the Common Era until 1400).
Biblical Bibliography of Lausanne - BiBIL (University of Lausanne)
Presents bibliographical data about books, monographs, serials, and journal articles on biblical and related studies. It has French, English and German search interfaces. Materials cataloged are in a variety of languages. The catalog record often includes an abstract and occasionally a link to the full text.
Catholic News Archive (Catholic Research Resources Alliance) Tutorial
Provides open access to selected U.S. Catholic newspapers from the early 19th century to the late 20th century.
Corpus Augustinianum Gissense: CAG-online (Zentrum für Augustinus-Forschung)
Provides digital access to all known works of Augustine of Hippo (354-430) in the original Latin. Includes a bibliographic database of secondary literature on Augustine's life and works.
Dead Sea Scrolls Electronic Library Biblical Texts (Brill)
Allows searches through high resolution photographs of the ancient fragments from the historical manuscript discovery, and texts derived from the fragments in Masoretic order, as well as providing English translations and full transcriptions of the Hebrew Scripture.
Dead Sea Scrolls Electronic Library Non-Biblical Texts (Brill)
Contains high resolution images of the fragments and all the texts from the Judean Desert manuscript discovery, in the original languages and in translation, which are not in the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible.
International Medieval Bibliography (Brepols)
Indexes and abstracts articles, book reviews, and book chapters. Covers all aspects of medieval studies within the date range of 400 to 1500 for the entire continent of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.
Iter Bibliography (University of Toronto)
Indexes academic journals, books, book chapters, book reviews, and dissertations pertaining to the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Covers the years 400 to 1700. Includes publications in the major European languages from the middle of the 19th century to the present.
New Testament Abstracts (EBSCO)
Offers abstracts of journal articles, books, reviews, and software on the New Testament and its historical milieu. Searchable by scripture citation in addition to keyword, author, title, subject, journal title, etc.
Old Testament Abstracts (EBSCO)
Offers abstracts of journal articles, books, essays, and software on the Old Testament (or Hebrew Bible). Searchable by scripture citation in addition to keyword, author, title, subject, journal title, etc.
Peshitta Online (Brill)
Presents the text and evidence of all known ancient manuscripts of the Syriac translation of the Hebrew Bible from the second century CE. This scholarly edition includes full introductions to the individual books.
RAMBI: The Index of Articles on Jewish Studies (National Library of Israel)
Indexes journal and magazine articles in various fields of Jewish studies. Covers articles in English, Hebrew, Yiddish, and the major European languages.
Vetus Latina Database (Brepols)
Provides access to citations in patristic writings to the Old Latin (pre-Vulgate) versions of the Bible, searchable by biblical book, chapter, and verse. Includes images of the index cards on which Abbot Joseph Denk collected these citations in the late 19th century. Collected by the Vetus Latina Institut in Beuron, Germany.
SUGGESTED
These additional databases are those occasionally suggested depending on the research topic and the scope of the research project. Most but not all are restricted to Villanova University researchers.
ABI/INFORM Collection (ProQuest)
Provides access to scholarly journals, dissertations, working papers, key business and economics periodicals, and country- and industry-focused reports.
Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO)
Provides citations, abstracts, and selected full text for scholarly journals, popular and trade magazines, conference papers, and books in all major disciplines.
Alternative Press Index (EBSCO)
Provides citations with selected abstracts to articles published in alternative and often marginalized journals, newspapers, and magazines. Coverage is international and interdisciplinary. Covers 1991 to the present.
America: History and Life (EBSCO)
Indexes the literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. Includes citations for journal and magazine articles, book reviews, and dissertations. Abstracts of journal articles are included together with selected full-text. Indexing goes back to 1964.
Business Source Premier (EBSCO)
Provides access to a wide range of academic business journals and trade magazines. Topics include management, marketing, finance, economics, and management information systems. Full text access may be embargoed for up to three years. Coverage goes back to 1965.
Essay & General Literature Index (EBSCO)
Indexes essay collections with emphasis on the humanities and social sciences.
Ethnic NewsWatch (ProQuest)
Offers access to the full text of articles from newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic, minority, and native press. While most of the content is in English, some content in non-English languages is included. Coverage for most newspapers and magazines goes back to the early 1990s, but earlier content is also available.
GenderWatch (ProQuest)
Indexes scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, books, conference proceedings, dissertations, and reports in many disciplines on topics relevant to gender studies. Provides a historical perspective on the evolution of the women's movement and changes in gender roles. Includes perspectives typically not represented in the mainstream media. Includes abstracts and full-text for most citations. Coverage extends back to 1970.
HLAS (Handbook of Latin American Studies) Tutorial
Indexes books, articles, and a variety of other materials related to Latin American studies. Includes short annotations. Coverage goes back to 1935. (See also HLAS Web, which covers 1970-present in a new interface.)
Historical Abstracts (EBSCO)
Indexes academic journals, magazines, books, book reviews, and dissertations that cover world history from 1450 to the present, excluding North American history which is covered in the companion index America: History and Life. Includes abstracts for academic journal articles and selective full text content. Coverage extends back to 1953.
Humanities Full Text (EBSCO)
Indexes and abstracts academic journals, magazines, and book reviews in the humanities. Includes abstracts and selected full text. Coverage extends back to 1984.
Humanities Source Ultimate (EBSCO)
Provides indexing and selected full text access to journals, conference proceedings, magazines, scholarly monographs, works of fiction, and other publications in a range of humanities fields.
Nexis Uni Limitations on Use
Formerly known as LexisNexis Academic. Provides full text access to national and international newspaper and magazine articles and news transcripts, business, company, and industry information in the U.S. and abroad, and legal documents, including U.S. Federal and State court cases, and law reviews. Coverage varies.
PubMed Tutorial
Offers indexing of journal articles and books in all areas of biomedicine. Worldwide coverage with an emphasis on English-language peer-reviewed journals. Developed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and currently maintained by the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Social Sciences Full Text (EBSCO)
Indexes and abstracts journals in many social science fields. Provides full text access to selected titles from 1972 to the present.
Sociology Source Ultimate (EBSCO)
Provides citations, abstracts, and selected full text for scholarly journals, books, and conference papers in sociology and related disciplines.
ABI/INFORM Collection (ProQuest)
Provides access to scholarly journals, dissertations, working papers, key business and economics periodicals, and country- and industry-focused reports.
Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO)
Provides citations, abstracts, and selected full text for scholarly journals, popular and trade magazines, conference papers, and books in all major disciplines.
Alternative Press Index (EBSCO)
Provides citations with selected abstracts to articles published in alternative and often marginalized journals, newspapers, and magazines. Coverage is international and interdisciplinary. Covers 1991 to the present.
America: History and Life (EBSCO)
Indexes the literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. Includes citations for journal and magazine articles, book reviews, and dissertations. Abstracts of journal articles are included together with selected full-text. Indexing goes back to 1964.
Business Source Premier (EBSCO)
Provides access to a wide range of academic business journals and trade magazines. Topics include management, marketing, finance, economics, and management information systems. Full text access may be embargoed for up to three years. Coverage goes back to 1965.
Essay & General Literature Index (EBSCO)
Indexes essay collections with emphasis on the humanities and social sciences.
Ethnic NewsWatch (ProQuest)
Offers access to the full text of articles from newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic, minority, and native press. While most of the content is in English, some content in non-English languages is included. Coverage for most newspapers and magazines goes back to the early 1990s, but earlier content is also available.
GenderWatch (ProQuest)
Indexes scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, books, conference proceedings, dissertations, and reports in many disciplines on topics relevant to gender studies. Provides a historical perspective on the evolution of the women's movement and changes in gender roles. Includes perspectives typically not represented in the mainstream media. Includes abstracts and full-text for most citations. Coverage extends back to 1970.
HLAS (Handbook of Latin American Studies) Tutorial
Indexes books, articles, and a variety of other materials related to Latin American studies. Includes short annotations. Coverage goes back to 1935. (See also HLAS Web, which covers 1970-present in a new interface.)
Historical Abstracts (EBSCO)
Indexes academic journals, magazines, books, book reviews, and dissertations that cover world history from 1450 to the present, excluding North American history which is covered in the companion index America: History and Life. Includes abstracts for academic journal articles and selective full text content. Coverage extends back to 1953.
Humanities Full Text (EBSCO)
Indexes and abstracts academic journals, magazines, and book reviews in the humanities. Includes abstracts and selected full text. Coverage extends back to 1984.
Humanities Source Ultimate (EBSCO)
Provides indexing and selected full text access to journals, conference proceedings, magazines, scholarly monographs, works of fiction, and other publications in a range of humanities fields.
Nexis Uni Limitations on Use
Formerly known as LexisNexis Academic. Provides full text access to national and international newspaper and magazine articles and news transcripts, business, company, and industry information in the U.S. and abroad, and legal documents, including U.S. Federal and State court cases, and law reviews. Coverage varies.
PubMed Tutorial
Offers indexing of journal articles and books in all areas of biomedicine. Worldwide coverage with an emphasis on English-language peer-reviewed journals. Developed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and currently maintained by the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Social Sciences Full Text (EBSCO)
Indexes and abstracts journals in many social science fields. Provides full text access to selected titles from 1972 to the present.
Sociology Source Ultimate (EBSCO)
Provides citations, abstracts, and selected full text for scholarly journals, books, and conference papers in sociology and related disciplines.