Subject guides: Women's & Gender Studies: Databases & Journals

Databases

Databases are collections of journal articles, ebooks, archival material, newspapers, videos and much more. Some databases are subject specific, whilst others cover a broad range of topics.

For a full list of databases available check out the A-Z Databases Guide.

Academic OneFile This link opens in a new window
See: Gale academic OneFile
Humanities & social sciences collection (Informit) This link opens in a new window
This largely full text collection contains peer reviewed journals, books, conference proceedings, and research papers and reports, with indexing from 1940 to the present, and full text form 1998. Topics covered include agriculture, arts, Asian studies, business, cultural studies, education, history, indigenous studies, law, media, political science, reference, social sciences, science and technology with an Australasian focus.
International bibliography of the social sciences (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
IBSS includes millions of bibliographic references to journal articles and to books, reviews and selected chapters dating back to 1951. It is unique in its broad coverage of international material and incorporates over 100 languages and countries. It provides cross-disciplinary coverage across the social sciences, focused on four primary subject areas: anthropology, economics, political science and sociology.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
JSTOR is a comprehensive library of important scholarly literature, built by over 1,700 worldwide participants, including major Australian universities. It includes thousands of academic journals, books, and primary sources from a wide range of academic publishers and university presses. Titles span across disciplines, including core areas such as business & economics, social sciences, education, history, language & literature and science. Current journals are linked and cross-searchable with archival journals and ebooks.
ProQuest This link opens in a new window
The Proquest platform is a leading multidisciplinary portal allowing cross-search access to many key online databases, both full text and bibliographic. Databases cover academic and professional disciplines such as business, law, education, computing, science, technology, engineering, arts, and medicine, and consist of scholarly journals, books, video & audio, dissertations & theses, newspapers and more. Search multiple databases simultaneously or select from amongst individual database titles. A complete list of database titles available to Monash University students and staff is available at the site.
PsycINFO This link opens in a new window
See: APA PsycInfo
SAGE reference online This link opens in a new window
Hosted on the SAGE Knowledge platform, SAGE Reference offers an expansive range of multidisciplinary reference content, including scholarly reference works, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and more. Covers mainly key topics in the social sciences. Full text access is to subscribed content only.
Scopus (Elsevier) This link opens in a new window
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Scopus is an abstracting and indexing citation database of peer-reviewed scientific, technical, medical and social sciences literature. It includes journal and monograph titles from international publishers, Open Access journals, conference proceedings, trade publications, patent records and quality web sources, and provides seamless links to full text sources where the library holds a subscription. It also features smart tools to track, analyse and visualize research.
Sociological abstracts (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Sociological Abstracts abstracts and indexes the international literature in sociology and related disciplines in the social and behavioural sciences. The database provides abstracts of journal articles and citations to book reviews drawn from thousands of serial publications, and also provides abstracts of books, book chapters, dissertations, and conference papers. Coverage is from 1952 to the present.
Studies on women and gender abstracts This link opens in a new window
Spanning content from 1995 to the present, this resource is an international abstracting database covering key areas of women's and gender studies. Abstracts of articles from over 1,300 sources (books, journals and other materials) are available. International in coverage, the database focuses on education, employment, family, health, gender roles, social policy, psychology, culture, media treatment, biography, literary criticism and historical studies.
Archives of sexuality and gender : international perspectives on LGBTQ activism and culture This link opens in a new window
Click on collections, then filter options, then select Archives and then "Sexuality and gender. International perspectives on LGBTQ activism and culture"
Database examines diversity in underrepresented areas of the world such as southern Africa and Australia, highlighting cultural and social histories, struggles for rights and freedoms, explorations of sexuality, and organizations and key figures in LGBTQ history. Among many diverse and historical 20th century collections, materials include: the Papers of Simon Nkoli, a prominent South African anti-apartheid, gay and lesbian rights, and HIV/AIDS activist; Exit newspaper (formerly Link/Skakel), South Africa's longest running monthly LGBTQ publication; Geographic Files, also known as "Lesbians in…" with coverage from Albania to Zimbabwe; and the largest available collection of digitized Australian LGBTQ periodicals.
Archives of sexuality and gender. L'enfer de la Bibliothèque nationale de France This link opens in a new window
Select collections, then filter options, then archives, then select "L'enfer de la Bibliothèque nationale de France"
Enfer("Hell") from the Bibliothèque nationale de France is one of the most storied and sought-after private case collections of forbidden books. Enfer is made up of more than 2,400 literary works, manuscripts, engravings, lithographs, and photographs. The books in Enfer span from the 1530s to the 2010s, providing a wide perspective throughout time and in different societies on what were considered to be erotic and/or pornographic works. Readers will find documents mainly in French.
Sex and sexuality This link opens in a new window
This collection explores changing attitudes towards human sexuality, gender identities and sexual behaviors throughout the twentieth century. Investigate the breadth and complexity of human sexual understanding through the work of leading American sexologists, sex researchers, organizations and the public consciousness. Includes Module I and Module II.
Women's studies archive. 1. Women's issues and identities This link opens in a new window
Select collections, then filter options, then archives, then select "Issues and identities"
This resource of 15 collections traces the path of women’s issues from past to present - pulling primary sources from manuscripts, newspapers, periodicals, and more. It captures the foundation of women’s movements, struggles and triumphs, and focuses on the social, political, and professional achievements of women throughout the nineteenth and twentieth century. Along with providing a closer look at some of the pioneers of women’s movements, it offers scholars a deep dive into the issues that have affected women. Topics covered include: the history of feminist theory and activism; domestic culture; lay and ordained church women; women in industry; women's sexuality and gender expression; women’s education; women’s movement; women’s health and mental health; women and law; women and the control of their bodies, and more.
Women's studies archive. 2. Voice and vision This link opens in a new window
Select collections, then filter options, then archives, then select "Voice & vision"
The Voice and Vision archive contains 15 collections, and brings yet more female voices to the forefront. Particular attention has been paid to the mediums through which women have created a voice for themselves, with female-authored literature, journals and magazines that were produced by women, not just for women. Looking beyond simply women’s suffrage, the archive covers multiple areas that are of key importance to the study of women’s history from a diverse and global perspective, from the abolition of slavery, alcohol and temperance movements, pacifism, and political activism, to domestic service, education, health and hygiene, divorce, and social reform.

Archives of sexuality and gender : LGBTQ history and culture since 1940 This link opens in a new window
The Library subscribes to Part I, II and III. Part I: LGBTQ History and Culture Since 1940 features historical documents published in more than 35 countries. Part II provides coverage of underrepresented communities through access to key publications. This second instalment in the series highlights often-excluded groups--even within the LGBTQ community--and enables users to draw new connections across the development of LGBTQ culture and activism. Part III: broadens the scope from a specific focus on LGBTQ history and culture in Part 1 and Part II to the study of sex and sexuality. The archive illuminates the experiences not just of the LGBTQ community as a whole, but of individuals of different races, ethnicities, ages, religions, political orientations, and geographical locations that constitute this community.
Feminae : medieval women and gender index. This link opens in a new window
Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index covers journal articles, book reviews, and essays in books about women, sexuality, and gender during the Middle Ages. Note: Books written by a single author are not indexed in Feminae.
Humanities index retrospective : 1907-1984 (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
This H.W. Wilson database indexes nearly 800 humanities-related periodicals and provides access to millions of articles, including citations to books reviews. Topics covered include classical studies, literary & social criticism, philosophy, religion & theology, literature, art, dance, film, folklore, music, performing arts, area studies, communications, gender studies, history, journalism, linguistics, archaeology, and much more.
Ruth Fulton Benedict papers This link opens in a new window
Archive of Ruth Fulton Benedict 's personal and professional papers. Ruth Benedict made significant contributions to anthropology, and published her major work, "Patterns of Culture" in 1934. After WW II, Benedict began studies in Europe among refugees and in the United States among refugees and also among New York neighbourhoods, pioneering community action anthropology. She developed the concept of synergy and influenced her student, Abraham Maslow, in his psychological work. The Ruth Benedict Papers include notes from various field expeditions, including trips with the Pima, Serrano and Zuni throughout the 1930s.
Sixties : primary documents and personal narratives 1960-1974. This link opens in a new window
The Sixties brings the 1960s alive through diaries, letters, autobiographies and other memoirs, written and oral histories, manifestos, government documents, memorabilia, and scholarly commentary. This important period in American history, culture, and politics, which encompassed the new left; the emerging neo-conservative movement; the civil rights movement; counter culture; student activism; the Vietnam War; the women's movement; and the gay rights movement, is represented here with over 125,000 pages of text and 50 hours of video at completion.
Travel writing, spectacle and world history, 1818-1976 This link opens in a new window
This resource brings together hundreds of accounts by women of their travels across the globe from the early 19th century to the late 20th century. Sources cover many topics and a wide variety of forms of travel writing is represented, ranging from unique manuscripts, diaries and correspondence to drawings, guidebooks and photographs. The resource includes a slideshow with hundreds of items of visual material, including postcards, sketches and photographs. The sources can also be used to examine the variety of motivations for travel including tourism, work, exploration, missionary work and pilgrimages. They also show the diverse range of women who travelled.
Women and social movements, international : 1840 to present This link opens in a new window
This digital archive currently includes 150,000 pages of conference proceedings, reports of international women's organizations, publications and web pages of women's non-governmental organizations, and letters, diaries, and memoirs of women active internationally since the mid-nineteenth century. It also includes photographs and videos of major events and activists in the history of women's international social movements. There are also 25-30 essays exploring themes illuminated by the primary documents in the archive commissioned from leading contemporary scholars. The primary source material illuminates how women’s international organizations have focused on issues related to peace, poverty, child labor, literacy, disease prevention, and global inequality.
Women in the National Archives This link opens in a new window
This resource is comprised of two distinct elements: A finding aid to women's studies resources in the National Archives, Kew; and, Original documents on the suffrage question in Britain, the Empire and colonial territories. The finding aid enables researchers to quickly locate details of any document relating to women in the National Archives at Kew, and has the benefit of ranging across all of the classes of material held at the National Archives. The original documents focus on the campaign for women's suffrage in Britain, 1903-1928, and the granting of women's suffrage in colonial territories, 1930-1962.
Gender, feminism, and the British Left, 1944-1991 This link opens in a new window
This collection contains records compiled by the Communist Party of Great Britain's (CPGB) Women's Department during the period 1944-1991. These records include minutes, agendas, and promotional materials from various women's campaigns, events, and conferences. They also include copies of Link, the party's women's magazine, and Red Rag, a controversial journal published by the party's more militant feminist members. Together, these items provide a unique insight into the relationship between Western communism and the women's liberation movement during the post-war era.
Women's studies archive. 3, Rare titles from the American Antiquarian Society, 1820-1922 This link opens in a new window
This archive brings together over one million pages of women-authored works from the American Antiquarian Society, the pre-eminent collector of pre-20th century Americana, covering over a century of female writing. This unique corpus of female-authored literature centres on the American female experience in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The database not only provides women’s perspective of history but is an essential resource for researchers wanting to undertake in-depth analysis into women’s authorship, enabling them to track the development of female language, literature, and ideas.
Women's studies archive. 4. Female forerunners worldwide This link opens in a new window
Select collections, then filter options, then archives, then select "Female forerunners worldwide"
Female Forerunners Worldwide concerns women trailblazers, both individuals and organisations, who have impacted society through social reform, popular culture, healthcare and more. This fourth instalment of the Women's Studies Archive programme will host women's history collections focusing on advertising and advertising to minorities; birth control and sex education; the Civil Rights movement; healthcare and women in medicine especially nursing; religion and women's missionary work; migration; minority groups esp. African American and Jewish women; women in politics; prison reform particularly female criminals and women's philanthropic organisations to improve women's prisons; psychic investigations and the paranormal and women's rights and fight for suffrage.

Bibliography of Asian studies (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
Citation database of western-language monographs, articles and book chapters pertaining to East, Southeast, and South Asia (especially humanities and social sciences) published worldwide since 1971 to the present. Through 1991, BAS included citations to periodical articles, individually authored monographs, chapters in edited volumes, conference proceedings, anthologies, and Festschriften. Since 1992, newly published individually authored monographs are not added to the database.
Australian family and society abstracts database (Informit) This link opens in a new window
Australian Family & Society Abstracts (FAMILY), produced by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, is a bibliographic database that indexes and abstracts content on research, policy and practice issues about, or of relevance to, Australian families from 1980 onwards. FAMILY database contains published and unpublished materials on a wide range of topics including child development and psychology; family dynamics and parenting; child abuse prevention, and sociocultural aspects of Australian life. The collection features a large amount of ‘grey literature’.
Multicultural Australia and immigration studies (Informit) This link opens in a new window
Bibliographic database that indexes and abstracts a wide range of media from published and unpublished material on Australian immigration and multicultural issues. Coverage: 1988 to present
PAIS index (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
PAIS was established in 1914 to prepare and disseminate information, primarily bibliographic in nature, for the use of researchers seeking to locate published information in the realm of public policy. PAIS defines the "realm of public policy" as all subjects that bear on contemporary issues and the making and evaluating of public policy, irrespective of source or traditional disciplinary boundaries. PAIS comprises two databases created from the files: PAIS International and PAIS Archive. The PAIS International database is concerned with current public policy issues and emphasizes factual and statistical information. PAIS Archive provides a unique perspective on the 20th century’s most important public and social policies.