Selecting the best or most appropriate finding aid for identifying sources depends almost entirely on the context of your research project. There is no single database or web search interface that will work for every research context; instead, you'll need to match your specific research needs to a variety of options.
After the Berlin Wall: memory and the making of the new Germany, 1989 to the present by 
After the Berlin Wall: Germany and beyond by 
A Companion to German Cinema by 
Debating German Cultural Identity since 1989 by 
German Literature of the 1990s and Beyond: normalization and the Berlin Republic by 
Germany Today: politics and policies in a changing world by 
A New History of German Cinema by 
Screening the East: Heimat, memory and nostalgia in German film by 
Transnationalism in Contemporary German-Language Literature by 
Virtual Walls?: political unification and cultural difference in contemporary German by Depending on your topic and your angle, you may wish to search additional subject databases.
In most cases, you'll be better served by searching the subject databases above. However, if you have a topic that is very multidisciplinary, searching these electronic journal collections might be useful.
An interdisciplinary journal archive. It includes archives of over one thousand leading academic journals across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, as well as select monographs and other materials valuable for academic work. Includes the Artstor image collections.
Depending on the database, there are a few strategies to find resources written in German:
You can:
Be aware of databases that auto correct German words to similar English words.
Google Scholar can help you find articles which have cited an article that you have found. Frequent citation is often (but not always!) a marker for a particularly influential scholarly work.
Step 1: When looking at search results, check for the 'Cited by X' link underneath each result. That will tell you how many subsequent articles (that Google Scholar is aware of) have cited this particular article or book.
Step 2: Click that link, and you will be taken to a new set of results, all of which have cited the original article, which will still be listed at the top of the page.
Try these strategies to become a better, more efficient searcher -- and help you find articles that you can actually use:
If your article is not available at Collins Library, you've got another option for getting it. Use Tipasa, our interlibrary loan service.
Tipasa is linked to your library account so you'll need to log in to use it.
Once you are logged in, either go directly to Tipasa and manually enter the information, or, if you're using a database, look for a shortcut link to automatically fill out the form:
Allow at least a week for the article to come. If your article is delivered in electronic format, you'll receive an email with a link to follow as soon as it's arrived.
