Women’s Studies Databases: A Critical Comparison of Three Databases for Core Journals in Women and Gender Studies

In the last decade, online databases in the field of women and gender studies have matured. There are now a variety of bibliographic and full text databases available, both free on the Internet and through fee-based subscriptions. This article provides an in-depth analysis of three major fee-based databases: Women’s Studies International, Contemporary Women’s Issues, and GenderWatch. The author compares the databases by searching a core list of scholarly journals and feminist magazines to determine the coverage in each system including dates, number of citations for each periodical title, and whether full text is available for each title. The author also analyzes article coverage from those periodical titles common to all three systems for a specific year to determine which database provides the most comprehensive coverage. This analysis will provide libraries with a means to determine which of these databases will be most beneficial to their clientele, and it will encourage librarians with responsibility for selecting women’s studies online resources to advocate for more comprehensive inclusion of women’s studies journals in key databases.