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 | |
|
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
|
| 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 | |
|
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) | S | 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 |
| HADES | P | Yes | 1920s-2007 | Subjects: Health Advertisements Database from Ebling Sources |
| HarpWeek-the Civil War Era | P | Yes | 1857-1865 | |
|
|
S
|
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 | S | Some | 1975-Present | |
| Humanities International Index | S | 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 |
|
P & S |
Yes |
1600s - |
|
|
|
P |
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 | S | 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 | S | 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 |