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Book Reviews Guide

Related Guides: Zotero • English Literature • History

Find Articles

Article and Research Databases

When searching for articles, including book reviews, an indexing and abstracting database or print index is usually the best place to begin. Below are some recommended databases for book reviews. For others, see Article and Research Databases on the library website.

Key Resources

  • London Review of Books
    "Since 1979, the London Review of Books has stood up for the tradition of the literary and intellectual essay in English. Each issue contains up to 15 long reviews and essays by academics, writers and journalists. There are also shorter art and film reviews, as well as poems and a lively letters page."
    Unlimited simultaneous users.
  • Times Literary Supplement Historical Archive (TLS)
    "Since 1902, the Times Literary Supplement has forged a reputation for fine writing, literary discoveries and insightful debate. This collection includes the complete run of The Times Literary Supplement from 1902 to 2013. Among over 300,000 reviews, letters, poems, and articles, users will find the contemporary criticism of scholars, the reviews of award-winning novels, and philosophical works. They can also track the discoveries of explorers.

    Until 1974, writings and influential criticism of hundreds of the twentieth century's most important writers and thinkers were kept anonymous to foster open discussion. The Times Literary Supplement Historical Archive now discloses the identity of these contributors.

    The value of the archive lies in its extensive cross-disciplinary reach as the only literary weekly to offer comprehensive coverage of the latest and most important publications in multiple languages, across all areas of the humanities and social sciences."
    Unlimited simultaneous users.
  • Academic Search Premier (EBSCO)
    Academic Search Premier is a multidisciplinary resource that "provides journal coverage for most academic areas of studies."
    Unlimited simultaneous users.
  • JSTOR Current Collection
    In addition to being an archive, JSTOR offers current access to a range of titles from various publishers. UNB has access to current and archival content for almost 50 of these journals.
    Unlimited simultaneous users.

Additional Resources

  • Canadian Business and Current Affairs (CBCA) Reference (ProQuest)
    Please note: CBCA Reference is now searchable as part of the larger CBCA Complete collection. Canadian Business and Current Affairs (CBCA) Complete is the nation's largest and most comprehensive bibliographic full-text reference and current events database. Available through the ProQuest Web interface, CBCA Complete combines full text and indexed content from all four CBCA database subsets (Business, Current Events, Education, and Reference). Subject coverage is comprehensive and information is available from the broadest range of Canadian sources anywhere.
    NOTE: In certain instances ProQuest has decided to omit particular 'articles' from full-text access due to copyright restrictions or because the item has not met their criteria for being an 'article' (ie. too short, a letter, not attributed to an author, etc.).
    Unlimited simultaneous users.
  • Canadian Periodicals Index Quarterly (CPI.Q)
    Indexes over 400 Canadian periodicals (English and French) with full-text and reports from 165 periodicals.
    Limited to single-user access.
  • ATLA Religion Database (EBSCO)
    The ATLA Religion Database is an essential tool for the study of religion. It is the premier index to journal articles, book reviews, and collections of essays in all fields of religion. Journals are selected for inclusion according to their scholarly merit and scope. Journals representing all the major religious faiths, major denominations, and numerous language groups are included.
    Unlimited simultaneous users.
  • ERIC (EBSCO)
    ERIC is a "bibliographic database that contains education-related documents and journal articles." The EBSCO interface also provides some full text linking.
    Unlimited simultaneous users.
  • Modern Language Association (MLA) International Bibliography & Directory of Periodicals (EBSCO)
    MLA International Bibliography is a subject index for books, articles and websites published on modern languages, literature, folklore, film, literary theory and criticism, dramatic arts, as well as the historical aspects of printing and publishing. Listings on rhetoric and composition and the history, theory and practice of teaching language and literature are also included. Dating back to 1925, the database contains more than 2.7 million citations, over 6,000 journals and series, 1,200 book publishers and over 372,000 subject names and terms and adds over 66,000 records annually (May 2018).

    Coverage is international and includes titles and full-text links from online publishers including JSTOR, Project MUSE, Wiley-Blackwell and Taylor & Francis.

    The MLA Directory of Periodicals contains all information available on the journals and series on the bibliography's Master List of Periodicals.
    Unlimited simultaneous users.
  • Philosopher's Index (ProQuest)
    The Philosopher's Index "is a bibliographic database with informative author-written abstracts covering scholarly research in the fifteen fields of philosophy, published in journals and books since 1940."
    Unlimited simultaneous users.
  • Social Services Abstracts (ProQuest)
    Social Services Abstracts "provide bibliographic coverage of current research focused on social work, human services, and related areas, including social welfare, social policy, and community development."
    Unlimited simultaneous users.
  • Sociological Abstracts (ProQuest)
    Sociological Abstracts "covers the world's literature in sociology and related disciplines in the social and behaviorial sciences."
    Unlimited simultaneous users.
  • Worldwide Political Science Abstracts (ProQuest)
    Worldwide Political Science Abstracts provides "citations, abstracts, and indexing of the international serials literature in political science and its complementary fields, including international relations, law, and public administration / policy."
    Unlimited simultaneous users.

Print Indexes

In addition to the databases listed above, the library holds a number of print sources, which can be particularly valuable when searching for reviews of older titles. While many indexes include book reviews, the approach varies with each index used. For example, some indexes are devoted entirely to book reviews; others have a section BOOK REVIEWS contained within the alphabetical subject list; and yet others have a separate section at the end of the volume. The list below includes some important print sources for book reviews.

Find Internet Sites

While there is a wealth of information freely available on the internet, not all sites are created equal. Careful evaluation is a critical part of doing research on the Internet.

Below are some recommended sites:

 

Citing Your Sources

Accurate, properly formatted bibliographies are hallmarks of good academic research. Through citing, you acknowledge the source of any ideas you mention in your writing, document your research, and provide the information your readers need to track down your sources.

Numerous citation styles exist, and each specifies what elements are required (title, author, journal name, etc.) and how the citation should be formatted. Consult your course syllabus or check with your instructor to be sure of using the correct citation style for your assignment.

For help with different citation styles, connect with UNB's Writing Centres.

Zotero: automatically format references in any style.