Lesson 3: How to Find Articles
Since periodicals are
issued at regular intervals (monthly, weekly, daily), the articles they contain
are often a more current source of information than books.
The Fountain-New Library subscribes to many different periodicals
covering a variety of subjects. These
publications are available in several formats: print (paper), electronic
(Internet), microfilm reels or microfiche (microfilm in a sheet format).
There are two different kinds of periodicals: scholarly
journals and popular magazines. For
the purposes of research, it is best to consult scholarly journals.
The chart below lists ways to differentiate between scholarly and popular
publications.
Scholarly Journals |
Popular Magazines |
|
Identify authors for articles |
May not always name authors for articles |
|
Experts write the articles |
Writers are not always experts and articles are written for general entertainment |
|
Usually, articles do not include photographs, but do have graphs and charts |
Articles often include photographs, but rarely graphs and charts |
|
Provide bibliographies and/or footnotes |
Do not cite references |
|
Are written for a specific field of study and include specialized language |
The magazines have many advertisements |
Article Citations
A citation provides the pertinent information needed to locate a specific article. In addition, this information is necessary when providing bibliographic references so that readers of your work may consult the same articles for further information. Elements of a bibliographic citation include:
Searching For and Locating Articles
The Fountain-New Library
offers access to journal articles through electronic databases for its patrons.
[See Lesson 5: How to Use Electronic
Databases.] Many of
the databases offer full-text articles; therefore, this is one the most
efficient ways to locate periodical sources.
If full-text is not available, the databases will provide a citation and
short summary. In this case you
will need to locate the periodical in which the article was published.
You can find a complete list of the periodical titles held by the
Fountain-New Library in several places. Notebooks
containing the periodical list are available throughout the library building, or
you may access the list by going to the Periodical Holdings List online.
This alphabetical list indicates for each periodical title whether
current issues are available, the range of years held, and the format of the
holdings: print, microfilm or microfiche. If
you find that the journal is not available in the library, you may submit an
InterLibrary Loan request form for the article.
These forms are also available at the Circulation Desk in the library.
Another way to find periodical articles is to consult the printed periodical indexes in the library. The Fountain-New Library offers periodical indexes on a variety of subjects; these indexes contain the citations necessary to locate journal articles. Within each series of indexes, the citations are arranged alphabetically by subject and are bound by year. Keep in mind that articles are listed in the index for their year of publication; therefore, you may need to consult more than one year to obtain sufficient sources.
Various indexes cover different types of sources. You need to take into consideration the type of sources your instructor requires, such as scholarly journals or popular magazines. General subject indexes, such as Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature, mostly offer citations from popular magazines. For scholarly publications, you should consult a more subject-oriented index, such as Humanities Index. Library staff members are always available to assist patrons with index searching.