What is a Scholarly Article?
Both scholarly and peer-reviewed articles are written by experts in academic or professional fields. Scholarly articles are published in journals for specific academic disciplines. Many scholarly journals are also peer-reviewed.
Peer-reviewed articles are submitted to reviewers who are experts in the field. Because the reviewers specialize in the same scholarly area as the author, they are considered the author’s peers (hence “peer review”).
Both scholarly and peer-reviewed articles are excellent places to find what has been studied or researched on a topic, as well as find references to additional relevant sources of information.
Finding Full Text
Many databases on the library's website include the full text of articles. Click on the PDF or HTML icon to download the article.
If full text is not available, click the Find It or 360 Link icons to see if there is access from another source.
Look for 
displayed for each item in the library's databases. In Google Scholar, look for Find Full Text @ Oberlin. Access via publisher websites is generally limited to subscribers.
Full text is not always accessible for immediate download. The 360 Link may lead to an intermediary page offering access through Interlibrary loan. If you have trouble, consult the library staff.
Databases
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Education Research Complete This link opens in a new window
Indexes journal articles, books, and conference papers covering all levels of education from early childhood to higher education, and all areas including curriculum, administration, policy, funding, testing, and related social issues. Indexes over 1,500 journals, with full text for more than 750 journals.
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Education Research Complete This link opens in a new window
Indexes journal articles, books, and conference papers covering all levels of education from early childhood to higher education, and all areas including curriculum, administration, policy, funding, testing, and related social issues. Indexes over 1,500 journals, with full text for more than 750 journals.
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Social Sciences Citation Index (via Web of Science) This link opens in a new window
In the Web of Science Core Collection search function, limit your search to Editions > Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI). Indexing and abstracts of millions of peer-reviewed articles in social science disciplines. Also includes book chapters, conference papers and other formats. Cited and citing reference searching.
As of Fall 2025, you will be redirected to the Web of Science Core Collections search. To search in the Social Sciences Citation Index, select Editions > Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI)--1965-present.
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SocINDEX with Full Text This link opens in a new windowProvides full text of some journal articles, and indexing and abstracts for journals, books and conference papers. Covers all sub-fields of sociology, including criminology, gender, marriage & family studies, social work, social psychology, addictions, violence, and more. Covers scholarly publications in sociology, social work, and related fields. Contains 2.3 million articles and other materials (64% in full text) with deep coverage from 1960 and some back to 1882.
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Sociological Collection This link opens in a new windowProvides abstracts and full text of articles from 560 periodicals in sociology and related disciplines.
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EconLit This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive index of economic literature, including journal articles, working papers, dissertations, and books. Also includes full text for hundreds of journals. Dates of coverage: 1886 to date
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NBER Working Papers (National Bureau of Economic Research) This link opens in a new windowProvides full text of NBER (National Bureau of Economic Research) Working Papers covering all areas of economic interest, including energy, environment, labor, health, education, and finance. Dates of coverage: 1994 to date
