ELECTRONIC RESOURCES FOR FRENCH AND FRANCOPHONE STUDIES: HOW TO FIND JOURNAL ARTICLES

Compiled by
Marjorie A. Benedict
Bibliographer for French Studies
The University at Albany, State University of New York

• How to Obtain Journal Articles

• Indexes and Databases for French and Francophone Studies

      Arts & Humanities
      Education
      Language & Literature
      Social Sciences
      Social Sciences, Arts, & Humanities
      Social Sciences, Arts, & Humanities - Books, Book Reviews, Media Reviews, & Dissertations
      Social Sciences, Arts, & Humanities - Women's Issues
  
  
  

HOW TO OBTAIN JOURNAL ARTICLES

1: Identify the Articles

Periodical indexes are useful for finding references to journal articles. The University Libraries offer numerous electronic indexes and databases for locating articles related to French and Francophone Studies.

See INDEXES AND DATABASES FOR FRENCH AND FRANCOPHONE STUDIES below for descriptive material and links to relevant electronic indexes and databases offered by the UA Libraries. Some indexes provide only citations; some provide citations and abstracts. Others furnish the complete texts of selected articles.

2: Retrieve the Articles

Journal Articles Available Online

Users of the University at Albany libraries may retrieve full text articles directly from their computer workstations inside or outside the libraries to print, save on a disk, or to e-mail. To find out if the libraries provide access to specific journals in full text online and the years of coverage, start on the Libraries' HOME PAGE. From the center column, RESEARCH TOOLS, click on Journals - Print & Online, then type the title of the journal in the search box.

Additional links to electronic journals can be found on: Subject Pages & Guides: French Studies. Click on Internet Resources in French Studies, then on Electronic Journals.

Journal Articles NOT Available Online

If references retrieved from a periodical index lead to articles that are not available in full text online, check the journal title in MINERVA, the UA libraries' online catalog. If the libraries own the traditional print or microform version of the journal, look for the journal by call number in the Periodicals Section (in the Main Library it is on the lower level) and make a copy of the article. If the libraries don't own the journal, students and faculty members of the University at Albany may request a copy of the article by connecting to the ILLiad Interlibrary Loan system and completing the request form provided there. Please allow several weeks for interlibrary loan material to arrive.

INDEXES AND DATABASES FOR FRENCH AND FRANCOPHONE STUDIES

These electronic indexes and databases can provide relevant citations to journal articles and other kinds of material such as conference papers. Many of these databases either provide full text of selected articles and other material or are linked via the "Find It" button to another source that provides the full text.

Arts & Humanities

• AHSearch [Arts and Humanities Citation Index].  (1980+)  
  Includes references to articles and books on French and francophone studies, and information about where articles are cited.
• Art Index.   (1984+)  
  Covers key international arts publications, including French language publications. Indexes periodicals, yearbooks, museum bulletins, reproductions, book reviews, and more. Includes articles in French language.
• Bibliography of the History of Art.  (1990+)  
  Indexes publications in English, French, and other languages. Includes books, periodical articles, reviews, conference proceedings, Festschriften, essays, exhibition catalogs, dissertations, and electronic publications.

Education

• Education Full Text.  (1983+ Selected full text; 1994+ Abstracts; 1995+ books))  
  Indexes approximately 400 journals, about half of which offer full text retrieval online for selected years. Provides articles related to teaching French language, literature, and culture.

• ERIC - Educational Resources Information Center   (1966+)
  A multidisciplinary database with a focus on education. This version of ERIC provides access to the most recent additions to the database. Updating of the database ceased in 2003 and was resumed in mid-2005. For better results in retrieving journal articles from 2003 - 2006, it is advisable to supplement an ERIC search with a search of Education Full Text and additional multidisciplinary databases that include education-related material.
ERIC [via EBSCO]  (1966+)     
Search by keywords or use the subject thesaurus.
EBSCO offers access to full text articles from selected journals.
WebSPIRS is linked via SFX to sources of full text articles.
IMPORTANT! If you use EBSCO, please be aware that the information provided in the "Notes" field is not always reliable, particularly if the citation is for a book or an ERIC document. This note, "The library does not own this publication," may be incorrect. When the citation you have retrieved refers to a book, check the title of the book in the online catalog, MINERVA, to verify if the library owns it. In the case of an ERIC document published from 1966 - 2004, display the full record to find out if the document was produced on microfiche. The library owns the entire microfiche collection. It is housed in the periodicals section on the lower level. Fiches are filed in cabinets under their ED numbers.

Language & Literature

• Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts: LLBA.  (1973+)  
  Covers international literature on the study of language and linguistics. Offers quick and advanced keyword searching as well as a thesaurus for subject searching. Some articles are linked to full text sources via SFX, a service that provides a way to navigate between and within electronic resources held by the University Libraries.
• Modern Language Association (MLA) International Bibliography.  (1963+)  
  Offers bibliographic records pertaining to literature, language, linguistics, cinema, and folklore. Some articles are linked to full text sources via SFX and some are provided by Ebsco's linked full text.
  IMPORTANT! The information provided in the "Notes" field is not always reliable, particularly if the citation is for a book. If the record includes this note, "The library does not own this publication," it is possible that the library owns the book. To verify, check the title of the book in the online catalog, MINERVA.
  The library also has 1921/25+ in traditional print version REF PB 1 2999 M53.

Social Sciences

• Anthropological Literature.  (Late 19th century+)  
  Indexes periodical articles and essays published in colloquia, festshcriften, symposia, and collections received at the Tozzer Library, Harvard University. Includes publications about cultural and language studies.
• International Bibliography of the Social Sciences.   (1951+)  
  Indexes both journals and books. Includes some references to French language materials. French or English keywords may be used for searching.
• PsycINFO.  (1887+)  
  Useful for finding references to articles on psychological characteristics of people from various cultures.
  
• Sociological Abstracts.  (1974+)  
  Offers bibliographic information and abstracts. Includes journal literature, conference papers, and dissertations. Provides some references to materials in French. Topics or keywords may be searched in French or English. Among searching options are: boolean searching, quick search, advanced search, a subject thesaurus, and a choice of limiters.

Social Sciences, Arts, & Humanities

• Africa-Wide: NiPAD .  
  A combination of files from Africa, Europe, and the USA. The database is a gateway to a wide array of important bibliographies, indexes, and databases. Topics include politics, history, economics, business, mining, natural sciences, environment, development, social issues, anthropology, literature, language, law, music, tourism, and more. Sources include book citations, periodicals and magazine articles, radio and television broadcasts, newspapers, pamphlets, maps, reports, theses, and music recordings.
• ArticleFirst.  (1990+)  
  A source of references to articles relating to French and francophone studies from journals in various disciplines.
• EBSCO Academic Search Premier.  (1990+)  
  Multidisciplinary database covering Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities with selected articles available in full text. Choose Basic Search or Advanced Search. Click on Full Text to limit results to full text articles only. Among the other options for limiting are year (or span of years) of publication and peer review.
  IMPORTANT! The information provided in the "Notes" field is not always reliable, particularly if the citation is for a book. If the record includes this note, "The library does not own this publication," it is possible that the library owns the book. To verify, check the title of the book in the online catalog, MINERVA.
  For a list of journals indexed and dates of coverage click on Choose Databases, then click on Title List.
  To retrieve pictures, select "Images." Example: a search of the word "France" produced the following results: "Photos of people" (941), "Photos of places" (118), "Historical photos" (1161), and "Maps" (16).
• Essay and General Literature Index.  (1985+)  
  Provides access to essays in collections and anthologies. Covers the entire range of the humanities and social sciences.
  
• IngentaConnect.  [Online journal collection]  (Dates vary)  
  Perform a keyword search or browse journal titles. Click on the journal title and issue to display the table of contents. In the table of contents, click on the article title for access to the full article. Not all articles are available free of charge. Articles designated in the key as "free" or "subscribed" are available to University at Albany faculty and students at no charge.
• International Index to Black Periodicals.  (1998+)  
  Offers citations, abstracts, and some full text articles from scholarly and popular journals, newspapers, and newsletters, including some in French language. For example, a search of the keyword "francophone" produced more than 665 citations.
• JSTOR.  [Online journal collection]  (Dates vary)  
  Full text of articles from journals in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Mathematics. Includes several journals that are relevant to French Studies such as The French Review (1927 - 1999). JSTOR does not include recent issues of the journals, but through a cooperative agreement with Project Muse (entered below), links to recent content of a selected group of journals indexed by both services are available from JSTOR. To display a list of those titles, click on "About JSTOR" then click on "Links to recent content."
• Project Muse.  [Online journal collection]  (Dates vary)  
  Offers access to full text articles from current and retrospective issues of selected scholarly journals in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and other disciplines, including several journals related to French Studies. Browse the journal list or perform a keyword search (basic or advanced) in all fields or in specific fields.
• ScienceDirect.  [Online journal collection]  (1997+)  
  Contains selected full-text articles from several journals that cover subjects related to French Studies. Offers a keyword searching option (Quick Search). To display a list of journals related to Language and Linguistics, select Subject from the Sort By menu, click on Arts and Humanities, then on Language and Linguistics. Click on the journal title to display the table of contents. Select "subscribed" or "complimentary" from the display menu for articles available free to UA students and faculty in full text.

Social Sciences, Arts, & Humanities
-- Books, Book Reviews, Media Reviews, and Dissertations

• Book Review Digest Plus.  (1983+)  
  Includes book summaries, bibliographic data, and full text book reviews from more than 8,000 journals. Covers fiction and non-fiction.
• Digital Dissertations.  (Citations: 1861+; Citations & Abstracts: 1980+; MA Theses: 1988+)  
  For dissertations published since 1997, provides citation, abstract, and the first 24 pages of the text
• Worldcat.  (Dates vary)  
  Catalog of books and other materials in libraries worldwide. Offers basic, advanced, and expert search capabilities.

Social Sciences, Arts, & Humanities -- Women's Issues

• Contemporary Women's Issues.  (1992+)  
  Offers full text content from mainstream periodicals, alternative press, newsletters, and research reports. Focuses on the critical issues and events that influence women including health, the workplace, parenting, human rights, reproductive rights, and legal issues. Provides boolean searching and various limiting criteria.
• Women's Studies International.  (1972+)  
  Offers broad coverage of print and online publications in the Social Sciences and the Humanities. The database includes entries from Women Studies Abstracts and several other sources. Selected full text articles are available through linking partners. Includes journals, newspapers, newsletters, bulletins, books, book chapters, proceedings, reports, theses, dissertations, non-governmental organization studies, Web sites, Web documents, and grey literature.

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Updated 14 August 2008