Research Guides: Architecture Research Guide: Find Articles

Architecture Databases

Start with these databases when searching for materials related to architecture, architects, or buildings.

If you do not see full text available, click the icon within the record for additional information.

Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals This link opens in a new window
Index to journals for architecture and related topics.
Art and Architecture Complete This link opens in a new window
Full text coverage for periodicals and books in art and architecture. Specifically covers fine, decorative and commercial art, plus architecture and architectural design.
Arts and Humanities Database This link opens in a new window
This database features hundreds of titles covering Art, Architecture, Design, History, Philosophy, Music, Literature, Theatre and Cultural Studies.
Art, Design & Architecture Collection This link opens in a new window
Current periodicals and books covering visual and applied arts.

Multi-disciplinary Databases

Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
A great database to get started with for your research on any topic. Use it to search for articles from scholarly (peer-reviewed) journals, newspapers, and magazines.
Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Provides access to academic journals and books covering a wide range of disciplines; it also includes some limited primary source collections.
Project Muse This link opens in a new window
Scholarly journals and ebooks in the arts and humanities, social sciences and mathematics.
ProQuest Central This link opens in a new window
Brings together complete databases across all major subject areas, including Business, Health and Medical, Language and Literature, Social Sciences, Education, Science and Technology, as well as core titles in the Performing and Visual Arts, History, Religion, Philosophy, and includes thousands of full-text newspapers from around the world.
Web of Science This link opens in a new window
This multidisciplinary database includes a citation mapping feature that allows you to track research across time, including almost 1.7 billion cited references allowing for comprehensive searches.

History Databases

America: History and Life This link opens in a new window
References to journal articles and other sources on the history of the US and Canada. See Historical Abstracts for world history.
Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new window
References to journal articles and other sources on the history of the world (excluding U.S and Canada).

Engineering Databases

ASHRAE Online This link opens in a new window
Online full-text access to a handful of reputable ASHRAE resources. These include the ASHRAE Handbooks series, ASHRAE Transactions, the ASHRAE Journal, pocket guides, and more.
Engineering Village This link opens in a new window
Provides access to Compendex and Inspec databases. Search millions of records in physics, communications, information technology, operations research, environmental science, geophysics, nanotechnology, biomedical technology and biophysics, and all engineering disciplines.
Materials Science & Engineering Collection This link opens in a new window
Coverage of literature on metallurgy, ceramics, polymers, and composites used in engineering applications.

Newspapers

Newspaper articles can be a good place to find reviews of buildings, as well as commentary.

Charlotte Observer (1886-present) This link opens in a new window
Charlotte Observer online from 1886 to the present.
Nexis Uni (formerly LexisNexis Academic) This link opens in a new window
Source for legal research, business, news, etc. Search across global news sources, access federal and state legal cases, find company information, and more
NewsBank This link opens in a new window
Full-text newspaper articles covering international, national, and local news. Includes the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, Charlotte Observer, and many others.
New York Times Historical Archives (1851-2020) This link opens in a new window
Major global newspaper including news, editorials, letters to the editor, obituaries, birth and marriage announcements, as well as photos and advertisements.

Scholarly Resources

It can be hard to determine if an article is scholarly or popular. Here are some things that indicate something is scholarly:

It is written by an expert in the field (PhD, etc).
The institution where the author works is listed.
The article includes a bibliography.
The journal might be described as "peer-reviewed" or "refereed"
The article uses speciality words or jargon unique to the field.
Very often, scholarly articles have an abstract at the beginning that explains what the article is about.

AASL Core Periodicals List

Find a list of core periodicals for architecture as selected by the Association of Architecture School Librarians. The list includes essential and recommended periodicals as well as topical periodicals and "titles to watch."