LibGuides: The Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance: Articles, Journals &amp; Databases

Searching for a specific journals by title

You can search the Journal Portal to find out if we have access to a particular journal title in print or electronically.

Useful journals may include:

Articles, Journals and Databases FAQs

What is a journal?

A journal is like an academic magazine where scholars have written articles about their research. Essentially, a journal is a collection of articles.

What is the difference between a book and a journal article?

A book is a longer, and a usually more comprehensive text on a subject.

Journal articles are shorter, and more specific. They are published more frequently and so have more up-to-date information than books do.

Why use journals?

They are usually more up to date than books.
As most of them have been checked by other academics (i.e. peer reviewed), they are more reliable than general web articles and newspaper articles.
They are shorter to read than books.

What is a database?

A databases collects, organises and indexes information from journals, books, book chapters, theses and dissertations, magazines, newspapers and other sources. UCT Libraries subscribe to many databases covering a wide range of subject areas.

You can search a database by typing in keywords that describe your topic. The database will provide you with information about journal articles and other materials on the topic, and most will link you to full text articles in our electronic journals.

Search for articles using Primo

How to search videos and slides

Want to improve your search? Check out these short videos and slides.

How to look for articles using Primo (Slides)

How to look for articles using EbscoHost (Slides)

How to look for articles using Sabinet African Journals (Slides)

How to search effectively (Video 3:40)

Print Journals at UCT Libraries

At UCT Libraries we have journals in both print and electronic format.

To find print journals, use Primo. The journals are physically housed in three different areas. Here’s where to find them:

The most recent ones are in the Current Journals display in the Upper Level of the Research Wing;
From 1965 to present are shelved on Levels 2 and 3 as follows:
- 001.305 SOU - 629.105 JOU ... Lower Level (down the spiral stairs).
- 629.105 JOU - 960.05 JOU... Basement Blocks E and F.
Pre-1965 journals are housed in the Libraries' store on Middle Campus and must be requested at the Loans Desk.

A-Z Database List

UCT Libraries subscribes to many databases. You can access the full A-Z list

A-Z Databases

Recommended databases

The library’s databases are particularly helpful for finding information. Here are the recommended databases:

Academic One File
A multidisciplinary database that provides extensive coverage of the physical sciences, technology, medicine, social sciences, the arts, theology, literature and other subjects.

Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window
This multi-disciplinary database provides full text for more than 8,500 journals, including full text for more than 4,600 peer-reviewed titles. Provides journal coverage for most academic areas of study, including biological sciences, economics, communications, computer sciences, engineering, language and linguistics, arts and literature, medical sciences and women's studies.
Africa Portal: a project of the Africa Initiative This link opens in a new window
"The Africa Portal is an online knowledge resource for policy-related issues on Africa. An undertaking by the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), the Africa Portal offers open access to a suite of features including an online library collection; a resource for opinion and analysis; an experts directory; an international events calendar; and a mobile technology component — all aimed to equip users with research and information on Africa’s current policy issues."
Africa-Wide Information This link opens in a new window
Africa-Wide Information combines databases (African Studies, South African Studies, and African Healthline) to form a multidisciplinary aggregation offering unique and extensive coverage of all facets of Africa and African studies. This resource is essential for those with an interest in African research, and information on and about Africa.
Business Source Premier This link opens in a new window
Business Source Premier is the industry’s most used business research database, providing full text for more than 2,300 journals, including full text for more than 1,100 peer-reviewed business publications.
Country Watch This link opens in a new window
Provides critical country-specific intelligence and data through its suite of products to over 4000 clients including public and private sector organizations with overseas operations and global interests
Select Login via my IP Address to gain full access.

EBSCOhost
Offers a variety of proprietary full text databases and popular databases from leading information providers. The comprehensive databases range from general reference collections to specially designed, subject-specific databases for public, academic, medical, corporate and school libraries.

EconLit This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive, indexed bibliography with selected abstracts of the world's economic literature, produced by the American Economic Association. It includes coverage of over 600 major journals as well as articles in collective volumes (essays, proceedings, etc.), books, book reviews, dissertations, and working papers licensed from the Cambridge University Press Abstracts of Working Papers in Economics.

Google Scholar

JSTOR This link opens in a new window
JSTOR provides access to a number of older journal articles.
OECD iLibrary This link opens in a new window
OECD’s Online Library containing all books and papers published since 1998 as well as a vast collection of statistics with data going back to the early 1960s. UCT access does not include the IEA statistics.
ProQuest This link opens in a new window
Sabinet African Journals This link opens in a new window
This service is the most comprehensive, searchable collection of full-text African electronic journals available on one platform which focuses on information originating from or pertaining to Africa. Previously SA ePublications
ScienceDirect This link opens in a new window
Access to journals and ebooks published by Elsevier Science.
Scopus This link opens in a new window
"Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature and quality web sources with smart tools to track, analyze and visualize research. It's designed to find the information scientists need. Quick, easy and comprehensive, Scopus provides superior support of the literature research process."

Taylor & Francis Online
Content spans all areas of the humanities, social sciences, behavioral sciences, science, technology, and medicine. UCT subscribes to some of the fulltext journals available on this site.

Web of Science This link opens in a new window
The Web of Science is a large, broad-based abstracting database with direct links to journal articles.
The Web of Knowledge database includes the Web of Science, Biological Abstracts, Zoological Records and the Journal Citation Index. Searching can be across all databases or selected databases.
Wiley Online Library This link opens in a new window
Wiley Online Library hosts the world's broadest and deepest multidisciplinary collection of online resources covering life, health and physical sciences, social science, and the humanities. It delivers seamless integrated access to over 4 million articles from 1500 journals, 9000 books, and hundreds of reference works, laboratory protocols and databases.