Databases: O

Some databases are restricted to the Washington University community. Information about access from outside WU campuses.

• O*NET Online
  'The O*NET program is the nation's primary source of occupational information. Central to the project is the O*NET database, containing information on hundreds of standardized and occupation-specific descriptors. The database, which is available to the public at no cost, is continually updated by surveying a broad range of workers from each occupation. Information from this database forms the heart of O*NET OnLine, an interactive application for exploring and searching occupations. The database also provides the basis for our Career Exploration Tools, a set of valuable assessment instruments for workers and students looking to find or change careers.' (from About O*NET)
• OAIster (FirstSearch) or via WorldCat.org
  OAIster is a union catalog of digital resources hosted at the University of Michigan since 2002. It has grown to become one of the world's largest aggregations of records pointing to open-archive collections with more than 23 million records contributed by over 1,100 organizations worldwide. See this description for more information.
• The Occident and the American Jewish Advocate (1843-1853)
  Full-text. 'A MONTHLY PERIODICAL DEVOTED TO THE DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE on Jewish Literature and Religion edited BY ISAAC LEESER.' (from site homepage)
• OCLC FirstSearch
  FirstSearch provides access to about 13 different databases, all of which have their own direct listings in these Databases pages. This link takes you to the opening page of the FirstSearch service, where you can choose which database you wish to search. More info
• OECD iLibrary is the new interface for SourceOECD
  Full-text. SourceOECD (OECD iLibrary) is the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's online library of statistical databases, books and periodicals. More info
• Official Documents of the United Nations (1993 - )
  Full-text. Official UN documentation; older material is being added. More info
• Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) (1968 - ) | NCBI interface for OMIM (may not be up-to-date)
  A catalog of human genes and genetic disorders authored and edited by Dr. Victor A. McKusick and his colleagues at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere. More info
• Open CRS
  American taxpayers spend nearly $100 million a year to fund the Congressional Research Service, a "think tank" that provides reports to members of Congress on a variety of topics relevant to current political events. Yet, these reports are not made available to the public in a way that they can be easily obtained. A project of the Center for Democracy & Technology, Open CRS provides citizens access to CRS Reports that are already in the public domain.
• Oral History Online
  "The collection also provides keyword searching of more than 329,400 pages of full-text by close to 10,000 individuals from all walks of life. It also contains pointers to over 4,200 audio and video files and almost 19,000 bibliographic records."
• Ornithological Worldwide Literature (1998 - )
  Journal index. Provides indexing and abstracts from books and journals and other materials for worldwide coverage of the science of ornithology. More info
• Ovid Online
  Full-text. Journal index. Your own Ovid password required, or ask library staff to log you into this system. Consists of full text of several dozen biomedical journals and journal article databases, including Medline, Health & Psychosocial Instruments. More info
• Oxford African American Studies Center (1 concurrent user allowed)
  Full-text. Provides more than 7,500 articles by top scholars in the field, and includes the Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619-1895, Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present, and additional reference works. More info
• Grove Art Online is now part of Oxford Art Online (8 concurrent users allowed)
  Full-text. Dictionary. A comprehensive and authoritative guide with extensive surveys and in-depth articles on the history of art; provides links to museums, galleries, and art collections around the world, as well as images. More info
• Oxford Biblical Studies Online
  Oxford Biblical Studies Online provides a comprehensive resource for the study of the Bible and biblical history. The integration of authoritative scholarly texts and reference works with tools that provide ease of research into the background, context, and issues related to the Bible make Oxford Biblical Studies Online a valuable resource not only for college students, scholars, and clergy, but also anyone in need of an authoritative, ecumenical, and up-to-date resource.
• Oxford Bibliographies Online: Anthropology
  Oxford Bibliographies in Anthropology is a robust, reference resource offering on and offline materials in Anthropology. A dynamic discipline, anthropology examines humankind from its beginnings to the present day; it is typically divided into four subfields: sociocultural anthropology, archaeology, physical anthropology, and linguistic anthropology  - each field is further divided into its own subfields. (Description adapted from the resource)
• Oxford Bibliographies Online: Atlantic History
  Atlantic history is a fast developing field of historical inquiry that operates upon new assumptions about how to understand the remarkable nature of interactions between different peoples and cultures on four continents and many islands in the period between Columbus' voyages to the New World in the late fifteenth century and the end of slavery in the Americas in the late nineteenth century. Its principal theme is the movement of peoples, ideas and things in the Atlantic World – a world encompassing the continents of Africa, Europe, North America and South America and many islands, from the Canary Islands near Africa to the Caribbean islands and to Bermuda in the North Atlantic. The multiple movements were fundamentally important in shaping the modern world and in making cultural diversity a key component of modern identity.
• Oxford Bibliographies Online: Biblical Studies
  The modern academic study of the Bible is a highly technical and multifaceted field. Its practitioners are often required to gain expertise in diverse areas ranging from archaeology, Egyptology, Assyriology, and linguistics through textual, historical, and sociological studies, to literary theory, feminist studies, philosophy, and theology – to name but a few. As a result, the field of Biblical Studies is incredibly dynamic, with new discoveries, new methodologies, and new perspectives continually being brought to bear on the interpretation of the Bible. Managing the ever-expanding universe of scholarly publications in this field of study has proven to be a monumental if not near impossible task. Oxford Bibliographies in Biblical Studies provides students and scholars with a reliable and authoritative solution to the problem of information overload.
• Oxford Bibliographies Online: Classics
  ‘The study of the ancient world is a cornerstone of Western scholarship. It possesses a long history with a rich, well-established critical literature, and it is also a highly active field, which constantly produces new discoveries, interpretations, and theories. In addition to a vast body of scholarship, Classical Studies has been quick to move online so that today’s students and researchers have ready access to key primary source texts and a range of electronic resources.’ (from database homepage)
• Oxford Bibliographies Online: Islamic Studies
  'Islamic Studies examines the range of lived experiences and textual traditions of Muslims as they are articulated in various countries and regions throughout the world. This interdisciplinary field combines history, religion, philosophy, anthropology, Arabic language and literature, as well as literatures in other languages including Persian, Turkish, and Urdu. Because the field includes so many areas of inquiry, the research is wide-reaching in its response to new discoveries, interpretations, ideologies and theories.' (from database homepage)
• Oxford Bibliographies Online: Jewish Studies
  The field of Jewish studies is broad and interdisciplinary, encompassing history, religion, philosophy, literature, sociology and political science. Its chronological and geographical range is immense, stretching from the Bible to the present and including communities from the Americas to Western and Eastern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, South and East Asia, and Africa. Given the diversity of Jewish culture, it is extraordinarily difficult for students and scholars to stay informed about such a wide diversity of sources. With advances in online searching and database technologies, researchers can easily access library catalogs, bibliographic indexes, and other lists that show thousands of resources that might also be useful to them. But how can the researcher, no matter at what level, filter through the proliferation of information to identify what is reliable and directly relevant to their inquiries? What is needed now, more than ever, is expert guidance. This is what Oxford Bibliographies Jewish Studies offers through its carefully selected articles that break down subject areas into their component parts and pithy annotations that summarize the main contribution of each citation.
• Oxford Bibliographies Online: Philosophy
  ‘Philosophy is one of the oldest areas of study with a long history of critical literature, and it remains a highly active field for new research and publishing… Much of the most recent work has moved online in one form or another, and older material that was once out of print or difficult to find is being made more easily available, so that today’s students and researchers have ready access to an overwhelming array of potentially useful primary texts, journal articles, reference works, and a wide range of other resources.’ (from database homepage)
• Oxford Bibliographies Online: Renaissance and Reformation
  'The period of the Renaissance and Reformation, which spans roughly from the 14th through 17th centuries, is rich in history and culture. The field of Renaissance and Reformation studies, which has a critical importance for the understanding of Western culture, can best be approached through a combination of several disciplines including history, the arts, and literature. As such, it is constantly responding to the emergence of new interpretations and ideas for scholars to consider..' (from database homepage)
• Oxford Bibliographies Online: Social Work
  'As a discipline grounded in social theory and the improvement of peoples' lives, social work scholarship necessarily shifts and changes along with society, which leads, in turn, to an ever-growing body of literature. Scholars and professionals must keep abreast of new discoveries, interpretations, and theories in the field, and thus require access to the most recent developments.' (from database homepage)
• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (3 concurrent users allowed)
  Full-text. '50,000 biographies of people who shaped the history of the British Isles and beyond, from the earliest times to the year 2000.' More info
• Oxford English Dictionary
  Full-text. Second edition, updated quarterly. More info
• Oxford Handbooks Online
  Oxford Handbooks Online (OHO), the home of scholarly research reviews, is an outstanding collection of the best Handbooks in 14 subject areas. Oxford Handbooks are one of the most prestigious and successful strands of Oxford’s scholarly publishing, containing in-depth, high-level articles by scholars at the top of their field. A recently re-engineered platform and revolutionary changes to the publishing program means, for the first time, all Handbooks will be available online as well as in print and monthly updates introduce articles in advance of print publication and beyond the book born-digital content ensuring the most current, authoritative coverage anywhere. OHO brings together the world’s leading scholars to discuss research and the latest thinking in a range of major topics. Each Handbook offers thorough introductions to topics and a critical survey of the current state of scholarship in a particular field of study, creating an original conception of the field and setting the agenda for new research. The articles review the key issues and major debates, and provide an original argument for how those debates might evolve.
• Oxford Islamic Studies Online (1 concurrent user allowed)
  Full-text. "...brings together the best current scholarship in the field and promotes accurate and informed understanding of the Islamic world. This fully integrated resource features reference content and commentary by renowned scholars in areas such as global Islamic history, concepts, people, practices, politics, and culture,..." More info
• Oxford Language Dictionaries Online (3 concurrent users allowed)
  Full-text. Fully searchable, completely comprehensive bilingual dictionaries, and unique study materials that provide extra help with learning and using an expanding range of languages. More info
• Grove Music Online is now part of Oxford Music Online (8 concurrent users allowed)
  Full-text. Dictionary. Covers all aspects of music, and includes the New Grove Dictionary of Opera, the New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, the Oxford Dictionary of Music, and the Oxford Companion to Music. More info
• Oxford Reference Online (Premium Collection) (5 concurrent users allowed)
  Full-text. Contains almost 200 dictionary, language reference, and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press. More info