Suggested Databases

Background Information

Background information is a good place to start your research. You will find basic facts, history, descriptions and concepts about your topic, names of important people related to your topic, and vocabulary that can help you create successful search strategies.

Suggested databases for gathering background information:

Credo Reference - All Subjects Search
Contains dictionaries, bilingual dictionaries, thesauri, encyclopedias, quotations and atlases, plus a wide range of subject-specific titles.
Gale Virtual Reference Library
Gale eBook editions of multiple reference titles, including Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography, Encyclopaedia Judaica, and International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences.
Britannica Academic
Basic introduction to over 75,000 different topics, including encyclopedia articles, maps, news, definitions, and statistics. Includes a dictionary/thesaurus, media (photographs & selected audio/video files), famous quotations, country profiles, selected websites, and news articles.
CQ Researcher
Each issue examines a single "hot" topic with comments from experts, lawmakers and citizens on all sides of every issue. Includes charts, graphs and sidebar articles -- plus a pro-con feature, a chronology, lengthy bibliographies and a list of contacts.
Statista
Business, marketing, demographic, and economic statistics along with content in the form of infographics, company/industry dossiers, market analytics, and forecasts.
Infobase / Facts on File All Resources
Links to the Infobase / Facts on File databases available at Oakton.
World Geography & Culture
Provides country geography and physical features, government, people, and society facts at a glance and in-depth coverage through country entries, maps, flags, images, statistics, news articles, a gazetteer, and more.

Academic Search Ultimate EBSCO
Provides a comprehensive scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database, with around 10,000 full-text periodicals - of which more than 9,000 are peer-reviewed journals.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context
Database of contemporary social issues with content structured to promote critical-thinking skills. It contains reference book titles, pro and con viewpoint articles, and a variety of periodicals, podcasts, reviewed Web links, images, statistical tables, charts, and graphs.
American History Online
Spans more than 500 years of political, military, social, and cultural history, highlighting the important people and events of the American experience.
CQ Almanac
Offers original narrative accounts of every major piece of legislation that lawmakers considered during over 60 years of congressional sessions. Includes tables, graphs, and charts.
eHRAF World Cultures
eHRAF World Cultures contains ethnographic collections covering 281 cultures, including indigenous peoples and ethnic groups, as well as immigrant cultures in the U.S. and Canada. Comprehensive summaries cover topics such as economy, history and cultural relations, family and kinship, sociopolitical organization, and religion.
Ethnic Diversity Source
Full-text database that covers the culture, traditions, social treatment and lived experiences of many ethnic populations in North America
Humanities Source Ultimate EBSCO
Includes more 1,200 journals in full-text. Provides articles, essays and reviews, as well as original creative works including poems, fiction, photographs, paintings and illustrations.
Literary Reference Source EBSCO
Contains the full text of articles/essays of literary criticism, author biographies, literary journals, author interviews, book reviews, classic and contemporary poems, classic and contemporary short stories, classic texts, and plot summaries, synopses and work overviews as well as eBook versions of many authoritative reference resources.
JSTOR
Full text multi-disciplinary database of journal articles, books, images, and primary sources. Some subject areas include art, business, economics, history, humanities, language and literature, law, medicine, allied health, science, and social sciences.
The subscription includes the following JSTOR collections: Arts & Sciences I-XV, 19th Century British Pamphlets, Business IV, Global Plants, Hebrew Journals, Ireland, Life Sciences Collection, Lives of Literature, Security Studies, Struggles for Freedom - South Africa, Sustainability, and World Heritage Sites - Africa.

News

Access World News
NewsBank provides a comprehensive collection of reliable news sources covering a wide array of topics and issues.
Chicago Area News
Publications covering news in the Chicago region.
Newspaper Source Plus EBSCO
Provides full text for over 1,000 national and international newspapers - including Star Tribune, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Times (U.K.), Toronto Star, Bangkok Post, The Jordan Times, and many more - in a searchable archive.
Chicago Sun-Times NewsBank
Provides searchable full-text daily Chicago Sun-Times articles from 1985 to the present.
Chicago Tribune Historical ProQuest
Includes full-text and full-images of the Chicago Tribune in a searchable archive. The archive covers 1849-1999. This link is best used for searching primary source content and historic news articles.
Chicago Tribune ProQuest
Provides searchable full-text daily Chicago Tribune articles from 1849 to the present.
Daily Herald NewsBank
Provides full-text daily and searchable archived newspapers in Illinois covering North West Cook County, DuPage, Lake, McHenry and Kane Counties and Fox Valley from January 1995 to the present.
Illinois College & University Student Newspapers - NewsBank
Newspapers published at universities and colleges in Illinois.

Streaming Video

Academic Video Online AVON - ASP
Academic Video Online includes well over 81,000 titles spanning anthropology, religion, business, counseling, film, health, history, music, social sciences, and more.
Alexander Street Press Streaming Video Collections
Provides a searchable online streaming video collection of documentaries and interviews.
Environment and Social Issues AVON Academic Videos Online - ASP
Video collection that covers environmental studies, particularly ethics, policy, economics, law, sociology, planning, and environmental science. Also covers specific topics including alternative energy, pollution control, eco-design, sustainability, farming and agriculture, the food industry, waste issues, and climate change.
Environmental Studies in Video – Alexander Street Press
Contains hundreds of hours of film about various areas of environmental studies. Some environmental areas of study include ethics, law, planning, science, economics, and sociology.
Human Rights Studies Online - Alexander Street Press
Provides comparative documentation, analysis, and interpretation of major human rights violations and atrocity crimes worldwide from 1900 to 2010. The collection includes primary and secondary materials across multiple media formats and content types for each selected event.
Literature AVON Academic Videos Online - ASP
Offers a range of documentaries and interviews covering multiple literary forms. Also includes video productions of literary works throughout history.