Skip to Main Content

History of the Health Sciences : Databases to Use

History-Based Databases

This is a sampling of the databases available that index primary source materials. The links will take you directly to the database, but you can also find these all in the UW Madison Libraries' Database Library by Subject page. Additional sources can be found in the UW Madison Libraries guide to Pre-1970 Databases.

Database Primary or Secondary? [?]  Full Text
Available?
Years Included Notes
ABI/Inform P Some 1971-Present  
African American Newspapers P Yes 1827-1998  

African American Periodicals

P & S

Yes

1825-1995

 

 

American Pamphlets Series 1 P Yes 1820-1922  
African Newspapers P Yes 1800s-1900s  
America : History and Life S Some 1964+
Subjects: US and Canadian-History all subjects
America's Historical Newspapers S Yes 1758-1922
Subjects: U.S. & Canada Newspapers

American Indian Experience

P & S Yes 1490 - present  
American Memory P Yes 1400 - present  
American Periodical Series Online P Yes 1741-1900  
American West P Yes 1800s - 1920s  
AP Images P Photos 1850s to present  
Black Abolitionist Papers P Yes 1830 - 1865  
Black Freedom P Yes 1700s - 1900s  
Business Full Text P & S Some 1982-Present Subjects: business side of health care
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers P Yes 1880-1922  
CINAHL Plus P & S Some 1931+ Subjects: nursing & allied health literature
Defining Gender P Yes 1450-1910 Subjects: advice literature
Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO) P Some 1701-1800t  
Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management P & S Yes 1981-Present Subjects: air, land, water, and noise pollution
EthicShare P & S Some Varies  

Ethnic News Watch

P

Yes

1959+

Subjects: newspaper & magazines on diversity, race, and culture

Everyday Life and Women in America P Yes Varies  
Family and Society Studies Worldwide S Some 1970-  
Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index (c. 400-1500) Some 1994 Subjects: women, sexuality, and gender during the Middle Ages
Comments: links to journal articles available through JSTOR and Project Muse
The Gerritsen Collection, Women's History Online P & S  Yes 1543-1945 Subjects: condition of women, evolution of feminist consciousness, women's rights international scope
Google Scholar S Some Varies Subjects: interdisciplinary
Comments: peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts, and other scholarly literature from all broad areas of research: links to UW Find It
HarpWeek-the Civil War Era Yes 1857-1865 Subjects: Harper's Weekly

 

Historical Abstracts

 

 

 

 

Some

 

 

1450-Present

 

Subjects: world history & related social sciences and humanities, excluding the U.S. and Canada

History of Science and Technology P Yes Varies  
         
History of Science, Technology and Medicine Some 1975-Present  
Humanities International Index Some 1975-Present Subjects: literary, scholarly & creative journals published in the U.S. and Canada
IndexCat P & S No 1840s-1950 Comments: citations only
International Index to Black Periodicals Full Text (IIBPFT) P & S Some 1900-Present Subjects: cultural and artistic, economic, historical, religious, social, and political issues of importance to the Black Studies discipline
Comments: scholarly and popular

Internet Archive

P & S 

Yes

1600s -
present

 

Internet Library of Early Journals

Some

1700s-1800s, varies

Subjects: 20 year runs of six important British journals from the 18th and 19th centuries

International Encyclopedia of Human Geography S some varies  
International Medieval Bibliography No 1967-Present Subjects: medieval studies (c.400-1500)
JSTOR P & S Some Varies  
LEXIS/NEXIS P & S  Some 1980s+ Subjects: legal issues
Magazine Stacks No 1827+, vary by title Subjects: table of contents of European (including British) historical journals
Comments: limited keyword searching
NewspaperARCHIVE.com - Wisconsin P & S Yes 1830-2000 Subjects: interdisciplinary
Comments: Wisconsin historical newspapers archive from the 1800s - 2000s containing thousands of well-known regional, state, and small local newspapers from around Wisconsin.
19th Century Master File (1800s-1920) P & S No 1700s-1800s, varies Subjects: interdisciplinary
Comments: British and US periodicals
19th Century U.S. Newspapers P      
Old Medline; See PubMed P & S No 1950-1965  
Palmer's Full Text Online P 1800-1870 1790-1905  
Poole's Index to Periodical Literature (1806-1920); See 19th Century Masterfile S      
Project Muse S Yes 1990-Present Subjects: interdisciplinary
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Atlanta Daily World P 1931-2003 1931-2003  
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Defender P 1910-1975 1910-1975  
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Tribune P 1849-1985 1849-1985  
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Los Angeles Sentinel P 1934-2005 1934-2005  
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Los Angeles Times P 1881-1985 1881-1985  
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: New York Amsterdam News P 1922-1993 1922-1993  
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: New York Times P 1851-2006 1851-2006  
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Pittsburgh Courier P 1911-2002 1911-2002  
ProQuest Research Library P & S Some 1989 Subjects: interdisciplinary
PsycINFO P & S Some 1972-Present Subjects: psychology and related subjects international scope
Public Health Archive P & S Yes 1890-1970 Subjects: medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, allied health, health care systems, and pre-clinical sciences
PubMed P & S Some 1950-Present Subjects: medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, allied health, health care systems, and pre-clinical sciences
Comments: includes Old Medline (1950-1965)
Readers' Guide Retrospective P & S Some 1890-Present Subjects: interdisciplinary
Comments: US popular magazines
Social Sciences Citation Index; See Web of Science S Some 1981-1985  
Times (London) Digital Archive, The P Yes 1785-1985  
Victorian Database Online S No 1945-Present Subjects: interdisciplinary regarding Victorian Age (1830-1914)
ViVa: Bibliography of Women's History in History and Women's Studies Journals S   1995-Present Subjects: related topics such as prostitution, witchcraft, housework, sexuality, birth control, infanticide, gynecology, and masculinity
Comments: ViVa is a bibliography of citations to scholarly articles
Web of Science P & S Some 1970-Present

Subjects: arts & humanities, science, and social sciences
Comments: combination of three databases: Science Citation Index Expanded, Social Sciences Citation Index, and Arts & Humanities Citation Index.