LibGuides: Anthropology: Databases

What is a Database?

Databases are collections of references to journal articles, chapters in books, book reviews, conference proceesdings, reports and in some cases, theses and dissertations.

In many cases databases include the full text of journal articles. Access to these databases is paid for by the university.

In some cases only the abstract is available. In this case, you will need to search the library catalogue to see if the journal is available in print.

If the library does not subscribe to the journal you will need to get the article from another institution by using the Inter Library Loan facility.

Databases A-Z provides links to all of UKZN's subscription databases.

Open access journal databases

Some examples:

DOAJ : Directory of Open Acess Journals
The DOAJ aims to be comprehensive and cover all open access scientific and scholarly journals that use a quality control system to guarantee the content. In short, the DOAJ aims to be THE one stop shop for users of open access journals.

Taylor & Francis Online: Taylor & Francis Open
Taylor & Francis and Routledge currently publish a number of pure open access journals. All of the articles in these journals are published open access. The articles in these journals receive both rigorous peer-review and expedited online publication.

Sabinet Open Access Journals
The collection currently comprises 46 South African journals, which may be searched individually, and provides immediate access to the PDF versions of 6 000+ full-text articles.

Some Online Databases

Online databases are most useful for finding articles when you do not know in which journals articles are published.

Some databases are multidisciplinary and cover a wide range of subjects e.g. EbscoHost, while others are subject specific, covering a particular subject or discipline e.g. Anthropological Index Online. Other databases are limited to particular geographic areas, e.g Sabinet covers Africa, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa.

A Selection of Anthropology Databases

The following are a selection of electronic databases that are helpful for Anthropology:

African Journals Online (AJOL) provides bibliographic information on journal articles published in Africa.

Anthropological Index Online is a bibliographic database of journals held by the Museum’s Anthropology Library.

EBSCOhost provides access to many databases including the following listed below. Choose the database from EbscoHost Web page. You can search within a single database or select more than one database to search in one time:

*Academic Search Complete

*Africa-Wide Information

*Humanities Source

*MLA International Bibliography

JSTOR is a database of back issues of core journals. All issues of each journal are included in full-text except for the most recent 2 to 5 years.

Project MUSE offers full-text online access to a comprehensive selection of humanities and social science journals.

ProQuest is an international, multidisciplinary database. Search the following indexes:

     *International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS)
     *Proquest Dissertations & Theses
     *Proquest Research Library: The Arts

Sabinet is an interdisciplinary database focusing mostly on South Africa but does include some African information. Search the following indexes:

*SA ePublications (South Africa & African electronic journals)

*Index to SA Periodicals (ISAP - no full-text)

*African Journal Archive

*SA Media

*SAPA

Springer Link is a huge multidisciplinary database with full-text articles published in many of the journals to which the Library subscribes.

SwetsWise is a multidisciplinary database covering authoritative titles from core literature.

Wiley Online Library hosts a broad multidisciplinary collection of online resources published by Wiley-Blackwell.

INFORMATION / TRAININGS FROM DATABASE SUPPLIERS

ScienceDirect Part 2: Understanding what funding bodies expect from grant applications In the second webinar in our series focusing on understanding and getting the best from research metrics and indicators, Lesley shares insights into the expectations of funding bodies. Lesley discusses how best to use metrics and indicators in your grant application. Among the topics covered are: - The research funding cycle - Funder wants, needs and other expectations - The centrality of peer review and how this plays a role - What metrics and indicators can support your case Live online Jun 15, 2021, 3:00 pm South Africa - Johannesburg or after on demand 30 mins

How do I access databases from off Campus?

Use the Off-campus Access link if you are not on campus.

You will need a valid LAN username and password to access databases from off-campus. This refers to the username and password you use to access the computers on campus.

For more information on accessing UKZN library e-resources from off-campus, consult our FAQ's

Searching Multiple Databases

Google Scholar indexes much of the content in available databases. Click on the hyperlinks below to search.

Google Scholar links up with the database subscriptions of UKZN to enable you to gain full-text access if it is available.