Welcome
This guide introduces resources to support your research topics in game design. You'll find a list of major databases in the field as well as tips on finding books, articles, board games and other sources.
Email or schedule an appointment with the game design librarian for your location if you need help with your research.
Key Resources
Game Science, Game Design, and Computing Databases
- ACM Digital Library (Association for Computing Machinery) This link opens in a new windowContains full-text access to most Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) periodicals and conference proceedings. Coverage of computer science, engineering, information science.
- IEEEXplore (IEEE/IET Electronic Library) This link opens in a new windowPublications in electrical engineering, computer science, information technology, and electronics from Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) journals, transactions, magazines, and conference proceedings. Maximum number of users at a time: 15.
- Computers & Applied Sciences Complete (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new windowArticles covering computing, technology and engineering disciplines. Useful for studying the business and social implications of new technology.
- Compendex This link opens in a new windowJournal and trade articles, conference proceedings, books and more covering engineering disciplines, including computers, data processing, and electronics and communications.
Psychology and Health Science Databases
- PsycInfo (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new windowA database that includes articles, journals, books, and more for psychology and related disciplines. Published by the American Psychological Association. Useful for researching psychological aspects of games.
- PubMed (NU customized)PubMed is a health-focused database from the National Library of Medicine, encompassing Medline,a health information clearinghouse of articles from the National Library of Medicine, plus articles deposited by authors and publishers as part of National Institutes of Health funding requirements. This is a good resource for articles focused on the health impacts of games.
- CINAHL Ultimate (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new windowCitations and abstracts of scholarly, peer-reviewed articles and professional association news and information for thousands of publications. Covers nursing and 17 allied health disciplines, going as far back as 1937. Links to PDFs or full text for Northeastern-subscribed journals.
Interdisciplinary, Arts, and Humanities Databases
- Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new windowA multidisciplinary database useful for researching a broad range of topics. Includes newspaper, magazine, and academic peer-reviewed articles.
- Art, Design, and Architecture Collection (ProQuest) This link opens in a new windowScholarly and trade articles, books, and conference proceedings in the fields of visual and applied arts.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowArchive of scholarly articles in the humanities, social sciences, and other disciplines.
Business and Communications Databases
- Business Source Ultimate (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new windowArticles from academic journals, magazines and trade publications covering a range of business topics. Useful for researching the business aspects of games and game design.
- Communications & Mass Media Complete (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new windowScholarly articles covering communication, mass media, rhetoric, and other closely related fields. Useful for the business aspects of game design, such as advertising.
Education Databases
- Education Research Ultimate (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new windowContains scholarly research articles related to education, covering early childhood to higher education and all educational specialties.
- ERIC (Proquest) This link opens in a new windowCitations to education information, including scholarly articles, professional literature, education dissertations, and books, plus grey literature such as curriculum guides, conference proceedings, government publications, and white papers. Links to full text. 1966 to the present.
Need help developing a research topic?
Consider using some of the strategies below to help you get started:
- Think about something that interests you and would interest others in the field. Talk with instructors, classmates, or librarians, or look over course readings.
- Review conference proceedings or recent issues of journals and industry periodicals to explore recent articles in the field. Search by keywords related to your topic in a database and note which journals publish articles of interest. Search for those journals in the Journal Finder and view recent issues' table of contents. Here are a few sample conference proceedings and journals:
- Browse subject headings in databases. Subject headings are very specific terms that have been applied to an item (a book, an article, etc.) by a cataloger to summarize that item's content. Look for an online thesaurus in a database or perform a keyword search and look for the subject heading field in a few relevant items in your search results.
Research Methods
- Sage Research Methods This link opens in a new windowFamiliarize yourself with various research methods through short entries, books, dictionary definitions, case studies, and more.
Design & SoftwareTutorials
- LinkedIn Learning This link opens in a new windowCourtesy of Northeastern University Information Technology Services
LinkedIn Learning offers on-demand courses on 3D and animation, Adobe software, and R statistical processing language, and more. Most videos have closed captioning and transcripts for accessibility.