What is a scholarly article?
Spotlight on the California History Journal
This journal, available for free in full text through SCU Library, has tons of articles every issue on a variety of California history topics. You can search the journal from here, or browse.
- California History (Journal)California History is the premier journal of historical writing on California. Showcasing exceptional scholarship, engaging writing, and innovative research, California History is essential reading for students and scholars of the history of California and the West, as well as California residents curious to understand the imprint of the state’s rich past.
ISSN: 0162-2897 eISSN: 2327-1485
Published Quarterly – February, May, August, November
Scholarly Articles
To find scholarly articles on your topic (secondary sources), try the following databases:
America: History and Life
Provides access to articles on the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present.
Project Muse
Searchable database that provides access to the full-text of journals published by many university presses in the humanities, and social sciences. Coverage varies for each title.
JSTOR
Provides full-text online access to back issues of selected scholarly journals in history, political science, and other fields of the humanities and social sciences. Be aware that the current issues (current 2 or 3 years) are not included.
Academic Search Complete
A multidisciplinary database providing access to more than 8,500 full-text journals.
How to Search the Databases:
Just enter keywords describing your topic in the search boxes. . If you were interested in the Japanese American internment camps in California during world war II for example, you could do a search like this:
You can use synonyms or related terms to describe your topics. For example, "internment camps" or "concentration camps".
You can also use an asterisk at the end of a word to retrieve various endings. For example, Japan* would retrieve japanese as well as japan.
When you look at your list of results in the database, If the full-text of an article is not readily available i, click on the FIND IT AT SCU icon to see if it's available in another database or in print in the library.