WCSU Libraries    Self-Help Guides    What are Databases?    Indexes & Abstracting Databases

Periodical indexes are systemically arranged lists of topics, people, places, events, etc. that point to the exact location (title, date, page number) of articles in magazines, journals, newspapers.

Some indexes are available online, such as...

Others are only available in print, such as ... Don't overlook these, however, as they sometimes contain the most useful information for a specific topic!

An abstracting database does essentially the same thing as an index, only an abstract, or description of the article content is included with the location information. This is very useful in determining whether or not an article is relevant or appropriate for your research.