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Finding Articles
Consult articles once you've created a research question or thesis and want to look at your topic in detail. If you are just starting out and don't have a good sense of your topic yet, check out "Finding Background Information" first.
The databases on this page provide access to scholarly, popular, and news articles. Some databases will lead you directly to the full text of an article while others will help you find abstracts (summaries) for articles that you'll need to track down elsewhere.
If you have any trouble finding what you need, just ask a librarian! For a refresher, check out our guide.
To browse a specific journal, search for it by name in URI's Journal Search or browse for journals by subject on BrowZine!
- E-Journal List - URI Journal SearchEnter the title of the journal or newspaper you're looking for to find access quickly!
- BrowZineAn app that lets you browse journals by discipline or search by title. You can save journals or articles to a personalized bookshelf for later use!
Choosing a Database
The best place to find articles is in one of the library's databases, but choosing a database can be overwhelming! Below are a few best bets with a brief description of their specialties and strengths! Because research and scholarship on Food History and Sociology of Food crosses multiple disciplines, you might want to experiment with your search in several different databases.
Use the tabbed box below for some suggested starting points! If you're specifically looking for primary sources on food (recipes, newspaper articles, and cookbooks), be sure to check out the later pages on this guide!
Suggested Databases
- FSTA - Food Science and Technology Abstracts (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
- What’s included? Food Science & Technology Abstracts (FSTA) provides access to citations and abstracts dealing with all human food commodities and food processing (except for the production of raw food). Topics covered include microbiology, toxicology and hygiene, economics and statistics, engineering, packaging, and many food products. FSTA indexes articles, patents, standards, books, conference proceedings, research reports, dissertations, and legislation. Updated weekly.
- What dates are covered? 1969 - Present
- AnthroSource This link opens in a new window
- What's included? Full text access to current and back issues of fifteen of the American Anthropological Association's periodicals.
- What dates are covered? Coverage varies by publication, but generally covers the 1990s to the present.
- Sociological Abstracts (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
- What’s included? The international literature in sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. Citations and abstracts for journals, books, dissertations, and conference papers in areas such as social structure, inequality, social change, and social problems. Updated monthly.
- What dates are covered? 1952 - Present.
- America: History and Life with Full Text (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
- What’s included? Citations to and the full text of hundreds of full-text history journals about the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. Includes features such as the ability to search by time period.
- What dates are covered? 1955 to the present
- Historical Abstracts (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
- What’s included? Indexing and abstracts of journal articles and other materials on the history of countries other than the United States and Canada. Updated monthly.
- What dates are covered? 1450 - Present
- JSTOR This link opens in a new window
- What’s included? Archival journal collections in many disciplines, scholarly e-books, images, and primary source materials from institutions worldwide.
- What else should I know? Many journals in JSTOR have an embargo (called the "Moving Wall") on their most recent articles, generally ranging from 3-5 years. Other databases will provide more current results.
- Academic Search Complete (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
- What's included? Citations to and full text of over 8,500 journals and magazines, including more than 7,300 peer-reviewed journals. Covers a wide range of academic subjects including the arts, humanities, social sciences, sciences, technology, and more.
- What dates are covered? Coverage varies, but generally covers the mid 1990s - present. Updated daily.
- Scopus (Elsevier) This link opens in a new window
- What’s included? Multidisciplinary abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature with tools to track, analyze, and visualize article and literature use. Includes journal articles, books, book series, conference papers, and more. Alternative to Web of Science. Indexes close to 35,000 titles.
- Web of Science Core Collection (Clarivate) This link opens in a new window
- What's included? Access to Science Citation Index (1900-present), Social Sciences Citation Index (1900-present), Arts & Humanities Citation Index (1975-present), Emerging Sources Citation Index (2005-present), Conference Proceedings Citation Index (1900-present), and Book Citation Index (2005-present). Contains citations to articles from over 10,000 of the most prestigious, high impact research journals in the world.
- What else should I know? Searching by cited reference allows the user to uncover the research that influenced an author’s work or to navigate forward in time to discover a paper’s impact on current research.
Contemporary Recipes & Food Writing
Through our site license, we have access to the New York Times and New York Times Cooking
- New York Times (registration link) This link opens in a new window
- Cooking Content Unlimited access for URI students, faculty, and staff to New York Times Cooking including recipes and food writing via the New York Times website and phone and tablet apps. Registration required. Details at this link.
- What else should I know? Note that the above link is intended to be used for one-time registration only. To access NY Times content after you register, go directly to the New York Times website and log in.
Here is a link to our Libguide on accessing the Site Licensed Newspapers, where you can find instructions on activating an account as a student, faculty, or staff member
- Newspapers GuideDetails for accessing newspapers through site license subscriptions and databases.