These databases are a good starting point for most topics.

Follow the Find It button or Find It at UW Madison link in most databases to:

• Access online full text (when available)
• Request a free pdf of the article if full text is not available online (Request a Copy)

The UW-Madison Libraries licenses/subscribes to hundreds of databases that you can search by name or by subject/topic. 

Searching for a Database by Name

1. From the UW-Madison Libraries homepage, click the word Catalog above the large search box. This will open a drop-down menu.
2. Select Databases from the drop-down menu.
3. Type the name of an article database into the search box and click the Submit button.
4. When you receive the list of results, select the name of the article database. You will be taken to a new page.
5. Click Access Database in the right column of the new page and the database will open.

Searching for a Database by Topic

1. From the UW-Madison Libraries homepage, click the word Catalog above the large search box. This will open a drop-down menu.
2. Select Databases from the drop-down menu.
3. Click the Browse by Subject/Type link under the search bar.
4. From the large list of subject areas, select an area that fits your research area. Each subject page contains a list of many article databases.These are divided into Core Databases, which contain information closely related to the subject area, and Also Helpful Databases, which are sometimes very specific and sometimes more peripherally related to the subject.
5. Select a database name to see the time span as well as subjects and types of materials covered in that database.
6. To use the database, select Access Database underneath the database name in the search results, or once you have selected the database name and arrived at the database information page.

Follow these steps when you know the article title, journal name, and/or DOI or Pubmed ID of a specific article that you want to find.

• Starting from the UW-Madison Libraries’ homepage, select Journals from the drop-down menu above the search box.
• Click the Citation Search link below the search box.
• You can enter the article title, the journal title, DOI, or Pubmed ID in the individual search boxes. Use only one box. Then hit Enter or Return on your keyboard to search.
• If you used the Article Search or the Journal Search, locate the journal title or the article title from the available options and click the title link. Under Online Access or Available Online Now, click the database link that includes the year from your citation.