Finding scholarly articles in article databases is a multi-step process:
1. Decide which one to use. There is no database devoted exclusively to articles on science fiction and speculative fiction, but the ones listed below should give you plenty of results. You can also browse a list of the Library's databases organized by subject or alphabetically if you want to branch out into disciplines like religion, film, gender studies, and so on.
2. Always use the Advanced Search option.
3. Databases don't like full sentences! Build your search using a few words that best describe the main concepts of your topic. These are your "keywords." See box at right for some keyword ideas.
4. Select whichever filters are appropriate but do not click "full text" as one of the filters because this will severely limit your results. See #5 below.
5. If the full text of an article is not available in the database itself, use the link. This will take you to the online article on another platform or, if we don't have access to the online version, it will offer you an option to order it through Interlibrary Loan (ILL).
4. Most article databases allow you to save, email, cite, download, or export citations or full articles.
Contains citations to articles on the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. Covers over 2,000 journals published worldwide. Includes selected historical journals from major countries, state and local history journals, and a targeted selection of hundreds of journals in the social sciences and humanities.
Materials Indexed: Newspaper Articles, Book Reviews
Contains citations from academic and popular film journals.
Includes full text of journals and books in a wide range of subject areas. Also includes high-quality primary sources and images from around the world, including artworks, maps, photographs, and more (including those from Artstor).
Provides access to essential humanities and social science research. Hosts journals and books from leading university presses, scholarly societies, and related publishers. Note that UCSB does not subscribe to all of the journals or books on the Project Muse platform; items whose full text is accessible are denoted by a green check mark.
afrofuturism
afrocentrism
alternate history
alternative history
cyberfiction
cyberpunk
heroic fantasy
horror fiction
occult fiction
paranormal romance
planetary romance
science fantasy
scientific romance
scientifiction
slipstream
space opera
speculative fiction
steampunk
supernatural fiction
sword and sorcery
transrealism
uchronia
weird fiction