English as a Second Language Research Guide

Find Journal Articles Using Periodical Databases

Ryerson Library Periodicals Collection

Periodicals generally provide information that is in-depth and focused, usually from a contemporary point of view. Periodicals may be academic/scholarly; popular or trade publications.

Print Periodicals (journals, magazines) are located on the 5th floor, and are listed by title in the Library Catalogue.

The Library provides electronic access to the full-text of a large number of journals. These electronic journals, as well as our print journals, are listed in the Journals by Title A-Z list.

To Find Articles On Specific Topics Within Journals, You Should Use Periodical Databases.

Web Access to Databases :

The Ryerson Library has a large array of databases (which may be indexes, abstracts or full-text) on a wide range of subjects, accessed through the Library Homepage. (www.library.ryerson.ca)

Connecting from on-campus: Click on Articles and Indexes, then click on Find an Index/database by Subject. Click on Multi-Disciplinary. Click on the appropriate database to connect or for a description of the database. Follow on-line instructions to connect, and once in the database, check the on-line help screens for search tips.

Connecting from off-campus: Click on Ryerson Library - Remote Access to Articles & Indexes . Follow the instructions above

The following are some of the remote databases useful for research on topics for ESL courses:

Academic Seach Premier provides full text for 2,058 academic,
social sciences, humanities, general science, education and multi-cultural journals. In addition to the full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for 3,476 journals. Dates of coverage: 1984-present (citations and abstracts); 1990-present (full text).
CBCA Complete Canadian Business & Current Affairs (CBCA) is Canada's largest and most comprehensive bibliographic full text
reference and current events database. CBCA Complete combines full text and indexed content from all CBCA database subsets (Current Events, Business, Science and Medicine, Arts, and Education). Dates of coverage: 1982-present (citations); 1993-present (full text).
CPIQ (Canadian Periodical Index) provides comprehensive coverage of 400 Canadian and international periodicals. All subject areas are represented, with an emphasis on mainstream and academic titles available in Canadian libraries. Dates of coverage: 1988-present (citations/index); 1995-present (full text).
Lexis/Nexis a full-text database which focuses primarily on business, legal and news resources. Included in the database are law reports, company filings, journal and newspaper articles, broadcast transcripts, etc. Dates of coverage varies.
Proquest Research Library provides access to full-text journals across a wide range of subject areas, including business, education, literature, political science, and psychology. Over 2,600 journal titles are covered. Dates of coverage: 1971-present (citations); 1986-present (full text, selective).

For effective searching of the above electronic databases Boolean search strategy should be used.

Print Indexes:

For older resources not covered in the electronic indexes and databases, consult the Print Indexes and Abstracts located on the 5th floor, on the last two ranges of shelves. Some useful indexes are:

Humanities Index (1974-1996)
Social Sciences Index (1974-1996)
Social Sciences & Humanities Index (1966-1974)
International Index to Periodicals (1946-1965)
Canadian Periodical Index (1938-2002)