Guides: Family Studies: Family Studies Articles & Journals

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Subjects: Anthropology, Canadian Studies, Family Studies, Gerontology, Peace & Conflict Studies, Political Studies, Public Policy, Social Economy, Sociology, Women's Studies

Frequently used article databases

SocINDEX (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
SocINDEX offers comprehensive coverage of sociology and related areas of study. There are 500 "priority" coverage journals as well as 1,390 "selective" coverage journals; links to full-text in Academic Search Premier.
Academic Search Premier (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Provides indexing, abstracting for over 4,000 full-text journal articles in a wide range of disciplines.
CINAHL Plus This link opens in a new window
CINAHL Plus provides coverage for thousands of journals from the fields of nursing and allied health, including nutrition. It covers nursing, biomedicine, alternative/complementary medicine, consumer health and dozens of allied health disciplines.
ERIC (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
The ERIC (Education Resources Information Center) database provides comprehensive coverage of the research literature in the field of education. It includes journal articles as well as books, reports, and other documents.
APA PsycINFO (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
2000 international psychology journals, books, chapters, dissertations indexed/abstracted, links to full-text in ASP & PsychArticles.
Education Research Complete (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Coverage spans all levels of education from early childhood to higher education.

Multidisciplinary databases relevant to Family Studies

CBCA Complete (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
With over 4.5 million records and more than 1,680 titles, CBCA Complete is ideal for anyone interested in current events, business, science, the arts, and education as produced in Canada. Includes 640 full-text periodicals and daily news sources (over 480 of which are Canadian), plus indexing to an additional 1,100 other titles (over 95% Canadian). Updated daily with full-text content (1985 to present) and bibliographic content (1971 to present).
EBSCO Databases This link opens in a new window
EBSCO is a company that provides access to a collection of databases, including Ageline, SocIndex, ERIC, etc. You may select one or more database you wish to include in your search.
Child Development & Adolescent Studies (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Hundreds of journals indexed/abstracted related to the growth and development of children, links to full-text in ASP.
Gender Studies Database (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Hundreds of journals indexed/abstracted related to women’s studies, sexual diversity, men’s studies; links to full-text in ASP
LGBTQ+ Source (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
index for world literature on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues. At present there is a limited full-text component.
PubMed This link opens in a new window
Over 15 million citations from MEDLINE and the biomedical and life sciences literature dating back to the 1950's. PubMed includes links to some sites providing full text.
In May 2020 PubMed changed its interface. The Welch Medical Library video reviews the changes and provides a great introduction to searching the database.
Taylor & Francis: Social Sciences and Humanities Collection (CRKN) This link opens in a new window
A collection of articles from 1,191 electronic journals in the humanities and social sciences.

Core Journals in Family Studies

This list will connect you to the MSVU Journals list. Check the dates of the Library's access on the links to full text.

Family Relations
- Family Relations before 2016 (including access to issues to the journal with its previous names, The Family Coordinator, The Family Live Coordinator, and The Coordinator.)
Family Process
Journal of Comparative Family Studies
Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences
Journal of Family History
Journal of Family Issues
Journal of Feminist Family Therapy
Journal of Marital and Family Therapy
Journal of Marriage and the Family (including access to issues to the journal with its previous names, Marriage and Family Living, and Living)
Conflict Resolution Quarterly

Recognizing Family Studies Work

1. Check the journal name. Sometimes these explicitly include “Family”. However, some Family Studies related journals do not have “Family” in their name (i.e., Conflict Resolution Quarterly). Family Studies research can be published in related or interdisciplinary fields; in this case, you can look at the journal’s website for more details.

2. Check the subject terms assigned to the article by the database (to ensure the use of relevant terms.. You can find these in the record for the article.

3. Check the author’s institutional affiliation. Are they working in a related field or department?

4. Look for the presence and use of Family Studies perspectives.

5. Look at other articles written by the author. Do they reflect a trend of research related to Family Studies?

This list is an adaptation of Dr. Sandra Colavecchia, Greg Neapen, and Jennifer Easter's checklist for recognizing sociological work.