Bibliographic databases are a powerful tool for finding scholarly literature in your subject area. This includes but is not limited to journal articles, conference proceedings and books. They are very useful to consult when carrying out your own research because:
Bibliographic databases are useful when you want to start exploring beyond your reading list or are researching a new topic.
On this page you will find recommended bibliographic databases and guidance on how to search for and access databases.
Oxford subscribes to lots of databases you can use for free. You will likely find you need to use several databases for a thorough search of your subject area. The tabs at the top of this section take you to key bibliographic databases for Theology and Religion and a link to browse all databases in Theology and Religion.
You can also search for specific databases via SOLO.
For those seeking advice on accessing bibliographic databases, we recommend the following guides:
Below are key bibliographic databases applicable to those studying Theology and Religion at Oxford.
Depending on the database provider, you may need to use your Oxford Single Sign On to access materials.
Video tutorials for getting the most out of ATLA database search features are available at the link below:
The exercise below is designed for those wishing to try some practice searches in ATLA.
Index Theologicus annually indexes 30,000 articles from the 520 international journals and festschriften at the Tübingen library in the area of religion. Updated half-yearly, it encompasses the older Zeitschrifteninhaltsdienst Theologie (ZID) current contents service. It indexes articles in theological journals and essays in selected books from 1984 to the present time. Journals are indexed within 24 hours of the time they are received at the Tübingen university library, so this is by far the most current theological database. Current plans for an extensive digitisation project would allow for the adding of full texts. The database helpfully offers predictive suggestions and provides many opportunities to refine search material.
Why not watch a video form the Take a Tour pages to see Oxford Bibliographies in action or take a look at our PDF below to find out how to use this resource.
Try out Past Masters by completing the exercises in the PDF below.
Information on using STEP is available at the link below:
An exercise to familiarise users with some of STEP's features is available below.
To browse a list of bibliographic databases for Theology and Religion, follow the link below which takes you through to Databases A-Z.
Bibliographic database:
A searchable platform that contains descriptive records of articles, books, conference proceedings, audio-visual material, maps, newspapers, statistics and more.
Abstracting service:
Used to refer to a bibliographic database, the service provides abstracts of publications.
Indexing service:
Used to refer to a bibliographic database, the service provides descriptors to help organise and navigate publications.
Full-text:
This means you can read the item in full from beginning to end, not just the abstract or summary.
If there is an eresource useful to your work that Oxford does not subscribe to, you can make a recommendation by completing the form below (Single-Sign On required).
