LibGuides: International Students: Databases/Reference/Articles

Library Databases

Database: a collection of data organized to be searched by a computer. Some of the library databases contain articles from newspapers, magazines, and journals.

Others provide information from reference works such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, and more.

You may use any of the databases from home. You will need to submit your ACCeID and password to gain access.

There are many more databases than those presented here. Librarians can help you find specific ones for your research.

Learn about Austin and the Metro Area

Austin
Local information and Web Sites about Austin, Texas.
Austin Area: Select Cities of the Austin–Round Rock MSA
Brief information on Austin Community College District service area cities of Cedar Park, Elgin, Hutto, Leander, Pflugerville, Round Rock, and their counties.

Learn about Texas

American History This link opens in a new window
Spans more than 500 years of political, military, social, and cultural history, highlighting the important people and events of the American experience.
Bibliography of Indigenous Peoples in North America This link opens in a new window
Articles on all aspects of native North American culture, history, and daily life.
Handbook of Texas Online This link opens in a new window
Encyclopedia of Texas history, geography, and culture sponsored by the Texas State Historical Association.

Texas History Research Guide

Reference Works: Print Books and Ebooks in Online Databases

Generally, the category of works we call "reference" includes atlases, almanacs, bibliographies, dictionaries, directories, encyclopedias, guidebooks, handbooks, indexes, manuals, yearbooks—materials we "refer" to rather than read entirely. Go to these for definitions, codes, standards, and topic overviews or background information.

ACC Libraries have many databases with reference or background information. If you're not sure where to start, or if you want help searching, ask a reference librarian.

Most of these databases will create citations for you, but be sure to check a citation guide. Sometimes the punctuation or capitalization may be incorrect in computer-generated citations.

Reference Databases

These are often used for research asssignments. There are others. Ask a librarian for suggestions.

Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia This link opens in a new window A shorter version of works such as World Book Encyclopedia and the Encyclopaedia Brittanica, this encyclopedia, like those, is not usually considered a resource for academic research but can be a good starting point for research.
Includes over 25,000 articles covering an array of topics.
CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window In-depth coverage of political and social issues, with regular reports on international affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the U.S. economy. Reports from 1923 - present. This is a useful source for writing arguments, opinion or pro/con papers.
In-depth coverage of political and social issues, with regular reports on international affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the U.S. economy. Reports from 1991 - present.
American History This link opens in a new window Spans more than 500 years of political, military, social, and cultural history, highlighting the important people and events of the American experience. This database has a Select Language option for searching.
Spans more than 500 years of political, military, social, and cultural history, highlighting the important people and events of the American experience.
Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window Online collection of general and subject-specific encyclopedias on all major topic areas. Click the English tab to select another language to use for searching. When you find an article in English, use the Translate Article menu to select another language.
Online collection of general and subject-specific encyclopedias on all major topic areas.

Avoiding Plagiarism

Articles in Magazines and Journals

Here are two EBSCOhost databases often used for finding magazine and journal articles. Choose Languages to search in a language other than English to use. There are more databases for magazine and journal articles. Librarians can help you select others.

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
Scholarly articles, news, and research on topics in most subject areas.
MasterFILE Complete This link opens in a new window
Articles on most topics including business, health, education, science, and social issues.

Newspapers

Click English or Languages to search in a language other than English.

All ACC faculty, students and staff now have full access to NYTimes.com and NYT apps, courtesy of ACC Libraries. Instructions for claiming your Academic Pass to activate your account can be found here.

The Wall Street Journal Online (website)

All ACC faculty, students and staff now have full access to WSJ.com and WSJ apps, courtesy of ACC libraries. Click here for digital access instructions.