What is a Database?
A database is a searchable collection of information, usually related to a particular subject area or topic. Library Search is good for searching most of the library's books, peer-reviewed articles and journals simultaneously. In addition to books and journals, databases are good for finding a broader range of information types such as audio-visual material, newspaper and magazine articles, dissertations, theses, data sets and statistics. Most databases also have better search functionality than Library Search and can help you to find more relevant material more quickly.
Sometimes items from databases can be found using Library Search, but some items can only be found by going to the database directly. We use a traffic light system to explain whether items from a database will appear in Library Search results. If a relevant database is amber or red then it's a good idea to repeat your search in the database.
In this page I have listed the databases I think are most relevant to your department. You can also see a full list of the library's databases here.
For help using any of the databases listed below, please contact me using the 'email me' or 'book a one-to-one appointment' button in the right hand column of the guide.
Useful Databases for MCCS Students
Databases search across a number of different journals in one go and provide advanced search functionality compared with journal collections and search tools such as Library Search and Google Scholar. Databases also contain conference proceedings and other material not available elsewhere. To get the best out of these databases speak to your subject librarian or consult the help pages available within each database.
- Arts & Humanities Full Text This link opens in a new windowThis database features hundreds of titles covering Art, Architecture, Design, History, Philosophy, Music, Literature, Theatre and Cultural Studies.
In Library Search - Credo Reference This link opens in a new windowCredo Reference is an online database of encyclopedias, dictionaries and other reference texts with access to 3,476,088 full text articles in 942 titles from 116 publishers covering a wide range of subjects. It's great for looking up concepts and theories and where they originated from. In Library Search
- Project MUSE This link opens in a new windowThe library subscribes to the 'standard collection.'
In Library Search - Screen Studies Collection This link opens in a new windowA collection of 3 film indexes,“Treasures from Film Archives”; a detailed index of the silent-era film holdings of archives from around the world, the AFI catalogue - which covers the history of American cinema comprehensively from 1893 to 1975, with full or short records for films from 1976 to present, and Film Index International - an index of films from over 170 countries produced in collaboration with the British Film Institute. With a scholarly, inclusive approach to all areas of film studies - from the very first silent movies, to art house classics or the latest blockbusters. Coverage runs from 1900 - current
The International Index to Film Periodicals contained within the collection also includes a selection of reference volumes and the linked full-text of over 60 journals.
In Library Search - Social Sciences Premium Collection This link opens in a new windowThe Social Sciences Premium Collection is a tool for cross-searching a number of social science databases which may be useful for Media and Cultural Studies students including International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS), Linguistics Collection, Politics Collection, Social Science Database, and the Sociology Collection. In Library Search
- Sociological Abstracts This link opens in a new window(1952 – current). Covers the international literature of sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. Indexes thousands of journal titles and also includes books, book chapters, dissertations, conference papers and working papers. Cited references are included for many journal articles.
Partially in Library Search - Web of Science (Primary Collection) This link opens in a new windowWeb of Science Primary Collection: Thomson Reuters Web of Science provides access to the world’s leading citation databases. Authoritative, multidisciplinary coverage includes current and retrospective journal and proceedings data in the sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities. Web of Science Primary is currently comprised of 15,700 critically-selected journals, covering 257 subject areas spanning the life sciences, physical sciences, health sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities.
Users should register an account to access additional features such as saved searches, email alerts and better file export options.
In Library Search
- Box of Broadcasts (BoB) This link opens in a new windowBoB is Learning on Screen’s on demand TV and radio service for education. Our academically-focused system allows staff and students at subscribing institutions to record programmes from over 65 free-to-air channels, and search our extensive archive.
Please note that due to licensing restrictions users can only access this resource from within the UK
Not in Library Search - TRILT (Television and Radio Index for Learning and Teaching) This link opens in a new windowIndexes all television and radio programmes broadcast in the UK from 1995 onwards.
Not in Library Search - Independent Radio This link opens in a new windowThree projects which bring together the archives of Independent Local Radio from 1973 to 1976. Includes thousands of hours of content available online.
Not in Library Search - TVTiP This link opens in a new windowThe TV Times Project 1955-1985 provides unique online access to the fully searchable listings of the London edition of the TV Times from September 1955-March 1985, covering ITV and Channel Four programmes.
Not in Library Search - BFI Player This link opens in a new window11,000 archive films are available to watch free on BFI Player from the BFI, national and regional archives. This collection grows constantly as more material is digitised.
Note: Access is only available to free resources. Many items will require a subscription which Goldsmiths does not provide'
Please note that due to licensing restrictions users can only access this resource from within the UK
Not in Library Search
- Kanopy This link opens in a new windowKanopy is a streaming video service for educational institutions. Goldsmiths provide access to a small but growing collection of films.
In Library Search - Box of Broadcasts (BoB) This link opens in a new windowFilms which have been televised on terrestrial and Freeview channels may be available on BoB.
- TRILT (Television and Radio Index for Learning and Teaching) This link opens in a new windowIndexes all television and radio programmes broadcast in the UK from 1995 onwards.
Not in Library Search - Artfilms This link opens in a new windowArtfilms-Digital is the video streaming service of Contemporary Arts Media and Artfilms, offering more than 5000 films from around the world for arts education and arts practitioners.
Not in Library Search - Screen Studies Collection This link opens in a new windowA collection of 3 film indexes,“Treasures from Film Archives”; a detailed index of the silent-era film holdings of archives from around the world, the AFI catalogue - which covers the history of American cinema comprehensively from 1893 to 1975, with full or short records for films from 1976 to present, and Film Index International - an index of films from over 170 countries produced in collaboration with the British Film Institute. With a scholarly, inclusive approach to all areas of film studies - from the very first silent movies, to art house classics or the latest blockbusters. Coverage runs from 1900 - current
The International Index to Film Periodicals contained within the collection also includes a selection of reference volumes and the linked full-text of over 60 journals.
In Library Search - BFI Player This link opens in a new window11,000 archive films are available to watch free on BFI Player from the BFI, national and regional archives. This collection grows constantly as more material is digitised.
Note: Access is only available to free resources. Many items will require a subscription which Goldsmiths does not provide'
Please note that due to licensing restrictions users can only access this resource from within the UK
Not in Library Search - Internet Movie Database This link opens in a new windowIMDb is a freely available online database of information related to films, television programs, home videos and video games, and internet streams, including cast, production crew and personnel biographies, plot summaries, trivia, and fan reviews and ratings
- LGBT Studies in Video This link opens in a new windowLGBT Studies in Video is a cinematic survey of the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people as well as the cultural and political evolution of the LGBT community. This first-of-its-kind collection features award-winning documentaries, interviews, archival footage, and select feature films exploring LGBT history, gay culture and subcultures, civil rights, marriage equality, LGBT families, AIDS, transgender issues, religious perspectives on homosexuality, global comparative experiences, and other topics. LGBT Studies in Video provides students and researchers across disciplines a multi-content perspective on the LGBT political, cultural and social movements throughout the twentieth century and into the present day. It also provides key resources of interest to students and researchers in sociology, anthropology, psychology, counseling, history, political science, gender studies, cultural studies, and religious studies. In Library Search
- London Community Video ArchiveBased at Goldsmiths, University of London, the London Community Video Archive (LCVA) will preserve, archive and share community videos made in the 1970s/80s in London and the South East. Portable video recording — now a technology routinely embodied in smartphones — became available for the very first time back in the early 1970s, making it possible for individuals and communities to make their own television. The medium was taken up by people ignored or under-represented in the mainstream media – tenants on housing estates, community action groups, women, black and minority ethnic groups, youth, gay and lesbian people, and the disabled. With an overriding commitment to social empowerment and to combating exclusion, 'Community Video' dealt with issues which still have a contemporary resonance — housing, play-space, discrimination, youth arts.
- Nexis This link opens in a new windowNexis contains thousands of national and international newspapers and other news sources. It also provides international company and industry information and biographical data for many individuals. A video guide to using the resource can be found here.
Not in Library Search - Westlaw News This link opens in a new windowWestlaw News contains extensive US news sources plus a large collection of worldwide news sources, including UK news sources.
Not in Library Search - International Newsstream This link opens in a new window
To access this resource please register for free membership to Senate House Library.
ProQuest International Newsstream provides information from more than 660 of the world's top newspapers, including The Times (London), The Bangkok Post, El Norte, Financial Times, The Guardian, Jerusalem Post, South China Morning Post, The Daily Telegraph, Asian Wall Street Journal, and the BBC Monitoring series of publications.
Not in Library Search - Gale OneFile: News This link opens in a new window To access this resource please register for free membership to Senate House Library.
This innovative full-text newspaper resource allows users to search articles instantly by title, headline, date, author, and many other fields. Gale OneFile: News provides access to more than 2,300 major world newspapers, and includes thousands of images, radio and TV broadcasts and transcripts.
Not in Library Search - Gale Primary Sources This link opens in a new windowGale Primary Sources is a site which allows you to easily cross-search our Gale newspaper archives:
* 17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers
* 19th Century UK Periodicals: New Readerships
* British Library Newspapers, part I and II
Not in Library Search - The New York Times Annotated Corpus This link opens in a new windowThe New York Times Annotated Corpus contains over 1.8 million articles written and published by the New York Times between January 1, 1987 and June 19, 2007 with article metadata provided by the New York Times Newsroom, the New York Times Indexing Service and the online production staff at nytimes.com. Requires registration with Goldsmiths email address: https://catalog.ldc.upenn.edu/signup
Not in Library Search - Independent Voices This link opens in a new windowIndependent Voices is a digital collection of alternative press newspapers, magazines and journals, drawn from the special collections of participating libraries. These periodicals were produced by feminists, dissident GIs, campus radicals, Native Americans, anti-war activists, Black Power advocates, Hispanics, LGBT activists, the extreme right-wing press and alternative literary magazines during the latter half of the 20th century.
Not in Library Search - Chronicle: BBC Northern Ireland’s television news from the 60s and 70s This link opens in a new windowChronicle is a multimedia resource from the BUFVC, providing access to BBC Northern Ireland's television news from the 1960s and 1970s.
Not in Library Search - FT.com This link opens in a new windowTo access this resource please click here to register an account using your Goldsmiths email address.
FT.com is the website for the renowned newspaper The Financial Times. In addition to the day's news FT.com provides access to education blogs, news and insights, customisable newsletters and Lex, their premium daily commentary service. A video guide to using its advanced features can be found here.
Not in Library Search - The Times Digital Archive This link opens in a new window To access this resource please register for free membership to Senate House Library.
First published in 1785, The Times of London is widely considered to be the world's 'newspaper of record'. The Times Digital Archive allows users to search over 200 years of this invaluable historical source.
Not in Library Search - Historical Newspapers: The Irish Times and The Weekly Irish Times (1859 - 2016) This link opens in a new windowArchive access to The Irish Times and The Weekly Irish Times from 1859 - 2016.
In Library Search
- LGBT Magazine Archive This link opens in a new window To access this resource please register for free membership to Senate House Library.
LGBT Magazine Archive provides access to back issues of 26 of the most influential, longest-running serial publications covering LGBT interests. Includes the pre-eminent US and UK titles – The Advocate and Gay Times, respectively. Chronicles more than six decades of the history and culture of the LGBT community. In addition to LGBT/gender/sexuality studies, this material also serves related disciplines such as sociology, political science, psychology, health, and the arts. Some publications may contain explicit content. Not in Library Search - LGBT Thought and Culture This link opens in a new window To access this resource please register for free membership to Senate House Library.
LGBT Thought and Culture is an online resource hosting books, periodicals, and archival materials documenting LGBT political, social and cultural movements throughout the twentieth century and into the present day. The collection illuminates the lives of lesbians, gays, transgender, and bisexual individuals and the community with content including selections from The National Archives in Kew, materials collected by activist and publisher Tracy Baim from the mid-1980s through the mid-2000s, the Magnus Hirschfeld and Harry Benjamin collections from the Kinsey Institute, periodicals such as En la Vida and BLACKlines, select rare works from notable LGBT publishers including Alyson Books and Cleis Press, as well as mainstream trade and university publishers. Not in Library Search - British Online Archives This link opens in a new windowBritish Online Archives is home to over seventy digitised primary source collections, dedicated to teaching and research within the Humanities and Social Sciences with collections ranging from colonial, missionary and transatlantic relations to twentieth century political and social development, cover four-hundred years of world history. A video guide to the resource can be found here.
Not in Library Search - TVTiP This link opens in a new windowThe TV Times Project 1955-1985 provides unique online access to the fully searchable listings of the London edition of the TV Times from September 1955-March 1985, covering ITV and Channel Four programmes.
Not in Library Search - Vogue Archive This link opens in a new windowA complete searchable archive of American Vogue, from the first issue in 1892 to the current month, reproduced in high-resolution color page images. Every page, advertisement, cover and fold-out has been included, with rich indexing enabling you to find images by garment type, designer and brand names. The Vogue Archive preserves the work of the world's greatest fashion designers, stylists and photographers and is a unique record of American and international fashion, culture and society from the dawn of the modern era to the present day.
In Library Search
- Goldsmiths MCCS PhDsDoctoral theses undertaken in the Department of Media, Communications and Cultural Studies at Goldsmiths.
- CORE This link opens in a new windowCORE’s mission is to aggregate all open access research outputs from repositories and journals worldwide and make them available to the public. In this way CORE facilitates free unrestricted access to research for all.
- Dissertations & Theses: UK & Ireland This link opens in a new windowThis database is the most comprehensive available record of doctoral theses from the United Kingdom and Ireland. The collection offers the most comprehensive available listing of theses, with abstracts accepted for higher degrees by universities in the United Kingdom and Ireland, since 1716.
Not in Library Search - EThOS This link opens in a new windowSearch over 400,000 doctoral theses. Download instantly for your research, or order a scanned copy quickly and easily.
In Library Search - Goldsmiths Research Online This link opens in a new windowOur repository for College researchers and their research outputs, freely available on the web.
Partially in Library Search - Open Access Theses and Dissertations This link opens in a new windowAn index of over 2.5 million graduate theses and dissertations from around the world, freely available online.
Not in Library Search
- Sage Research Methods Online (Core collection) This link opens in a new windowA tool designed to help you create research projects and understand the methods behind them. SAGE Research Methods' taxonomy of over 1,400 methods terms links to authoritative content including: Over 640 books, Dictionaries, encyclopedias, and handbooks, The entire "Little Green Book" and "Little Blue Book" series, Two major works collating a selection of journal articles and Newly commissioned videos. SRMO LibGuide
In Library Search
Whilst some of the journals in the collections below will appear in Library Search it is still a good idea to search individual collections to ensure you haven't missed any key literature. Bear in mind that journal collections have less search functionality than databases.
- Sage Journals Online This link opens in a new windowGoldsmiths subscription to selected e-journals.
In Library Search - Taylor & Francis Online This link opens in a new windowGoldsmiths subscription to selected e-journals.
In Library Search - SpringerLink This link opens in a new windowFull-text access to over 1100 journals, mainly science technology and medicine but also including humanities, social sciences and computer science, with backfiles to 1997. We also have access to select ebook titles.
In Library Search - Wiley This link opens in a new windowGoldsmiths subscription to selected e-journals.
In Library Search - Oxford Journals This link opens in a new windowGoldsmiths subscription to selected e-journals
In Library Search - Duke University Press This link opens in a new windowGoldsmiths subscription to selected e-journals.
In Library Search - JSTOR Art and Sciences Collections I-XV This link opens in a new windowGoldsmiths members have access to JSTOR Arts & Sciences collections I-XV. The collections provide access to an archival back run of each journal, often dating back to Vol.1. Current journals are subject to a "moving wall" of access between 2 and 5 years behind the most recently published issue.
Arts & Sciences journals archives is one of several JSTOR databases Goldsmiths have access to. See here for a full list.
In Library Search - British Periodicals This link opens in a new windowThis database provides access to the searchable full text of hundreds of periodicals from the late seventeenth century to the early twentieth, comprising millions of high-resolution facsimile page images. Topics covered include literature, philosophy, history, science, the social sciences, music, art, drama, archaeology and architecture.
In Library Search
- Business Source Premier This link opens in a new window To access this resource please register for free membership to Senate House Library.
The industry's most widely used business research database, this collection features full text and searchable cited references for top journals covering a variety of business disciplines. In addition, it includes market research reports, industry reports, country reports, company profiles and SWOT analyses. A video guide to searching for articles in Business Source Premier can be found here.
Partially in Library Search - Campaign Live This link opens in a new windowCreate an account using your Goldsmiths email address to access this resource.
Campaign tracks, analyses and inspires the very best in multidisciplinary commercial creativity, giving you the creative firepower to succeed in today's exciting, fluid and fast-changing marketing landscape. By registering you can access articles and sign up for our range of email bulletins.
Not in Library Search - FT.com This link opens in a new windowTo access this resource please click here to register an account using your Goldsmiths email address.
FT.com is the website for the renowned newspaper The Financial Times. In addition to the day's news FT.com provides access to education blogs, news and insights, customisable newsletters and Lex, their premium daily commentary service. A video guide to using its advanced features can be found here.
Not in Library Search - Mintel Academic This link opens in a new windowMintel is the world’s leading market intelligence agency, offering data, market research and analysis, competitive intelligence and product intelligence covering various sectors and markets such as foodservice, e-commerce, media and technology. A video guide to the resource can be found here.
Not in Library Search - Mintel Market Sizes This link opens in a new windowMintel Market Sizes provides fast, easy to compare, extractable market data. Mintel Market Sizes is perfectly placed to support preliminary business research into new markets and act as a guide in defining further research requirements.
Not in Library Search - Nexis This link opens in a new windowNexis contains thousands of national and international newspapers and other news sources. It also provides international company and industry information and biographical data for many individuals. A video guide to using the resource can be found here.
Not in Library Search
Goldsmiths students and staff are entitled to free membership to Senate House Library which is the central library for the University of London and the School of Advanced Study. Through Senate House you have access to a range of databases covering art and cultural memory, Black histories and studies, Latin American studies, LGBTQ+ studies, political activism, protest and counter-culture to name a few. You can see a full list here.
To register for access to online resources just click the Register Here link at explore.gold/shl (you'll need to login with your Goldsmiths username (e.g. cuser001) and password to do this).
