The most efficient way to find articles on a topic is to search a database - you can search across many journals at once.
Many history databases also search additional types of secondary literature - book reviews, book chapters, dissertations, etc.
Each database searches different sources; usually you'll want to search several databases.
If you are off campus you will be prompted for your Campus ID/password.
Start with these to find secondary source articles on your topic. For more databases, see related research guides or our A-Z database list.
For primary source (generally older) articles, consult the Primary Sources tab above.
A digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources. It offers an interdisciplinary journal archive across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences
A scholarly, multi-disciplinary database providing indexing and abstracts for thousands of journals and other publications. PDF content dates back to 1887.
Like books, articles in databases assigned one or more subject headings. These are standardized terms that ensure that articles on the same topic can be found even if the keywords are different, as with The US Civil War and The War Between the States.
Be sure to select "Subject" or "Subject Heading" instead of "Author" or "Title" when you search databases for particular topics.
When you find a good article, look at its subject headings in the database record. Follow these to list other items on that topic. Or, use the subject heading terms in a new keyword search.
Examples of broad subject headings:
​Examples of more specific searches -- persons, places, events, topics, phenomena:
Journals published by professional associations or a university press will have a panel of scholars who evaluate articles submitted for publication. In other words, these editorial panels are comprised of the author's peers. If approved for publication the panel has agreed the article will advance the thinking within the discipline.
Peer-reviewed journals are also called scholarly or refereed (as opposed to popular and trade journals).