Periodical Databases
General vs. Subject-Specific Databases
General databases cover a range of subjects broadly but do not have the same depth of coverage as subject-specific databases. Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature is an example of a general database. It indexes popular magazines such as Newsweek, Time, and People.
Subject-Specific databases index scholarly articles in a particular discipline. MLA International Bibliography (literature), Biological Abstracts, and PsyInfo (psychology) are all subject-specific databases.
Electronic Databases vs. Print Indexes
Many electronic databases do not index journal articles prior to 1975, but may have print counterparts that go back decades earlier. In addition, the Reference Department has unique print indexes that do not have an electronic counterpart.
Our advice: use both print and electronic databases in your research.
Finding Journal Articles 
Periodical Databases continued