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This guide is designed for researchers to find articles, sources and get started with research in topics related to American Studies and the study of U.S. culture.
Start with:
Use multi-disciplinary databases to gain a broad understanding of your topic. Reference materials and books can also be helpful in the early stages of research.
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Academic Search PremierA great place to start your research on any topic, search multidisciplinary, scholarly research articles. This database provides access to scholarly and peer reviewed journals, popular magazines and other resources. View this tutorial to learn how to go from a general idea to a very precise set of results of journal articles and scholarly materials.
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JSTORFind full text articles in academic journals or books on the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences. JSTOR provides articles from the journal's first issue. In some cases the most recent 2-5 years may not be available. View this tutorial to learn how to go from a general idea to a very precise set of results of journal articles and scholarly materials.
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Project MuseSearch for full-text journals in literary theory, classics, history and cultural studies, philosophy, film, theater and performing arts, political science, and mathematics.
Then try any of the following:
Use discipline-specific databases (like the ones below) to get precise information from scholarly journal articles related to your topic. Find more databases with journal articles for American Studies research.
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America: History and LifeAmerica: history and life provides historical coverage of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present with over 2,000 journals including all key English-language historical journals. Limited to 6 simultaneous users.
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MLA International BibliographyUse the MLA International Bibliography to find scholarly books and articles on modern languages, literatures, folklore, and linguistics. This index has been compiled by the Modern Language Association of America since 1926.
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Arts & Humanities Citation Index (Web of Science)AHCI covers arts, humanities, and area studies scholarship. Titles of foreign-language works are translated into English, and abstracts are given in English, thereby simplifying and standardizing searching across languages.
Also check out:
Specialized databases like the ones listed below can help with finding popular and primary sources. From news, video, and other media to exploring primary sources and archives the library can help you find what you need.
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Ethnic NewsWatchEthnic NewsWatch is a current resource of full-text newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic and minority press from 1990, providing researchers access to essential, often overlooked perspectives.
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MasterFile CompleteSearch magazines, with a small number of journals and newspapers, covering a broad range of disciplines and topics. Includes photos and multimedia.
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U.S. Newsstream This link opens in a new windowSearch the most recent premium U.S. news content, as well as archives which stretch back into the 1980s featuring newspapers, newswires, blogs, and news sites in active full-text format.
Last Updated: Jul 9, 2025 1:03 PM
URL: https://libguides.umn.edu/AmericanStudies