F.I.R.S.T. Tutorial

Chapter Five: Finding Articles in Magazines and Journals
In this chapter: Defining scholarly journals; understanding general and subject-specific databases; understanding citations; finding full text

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Scholarly Journals v. Magazines

You will probably hear this at some point from one of your professors: "I want you to find articles from scholarly journals." Then it becomes really important to be able to tell them apart! So let's consider what distinguishes journals from magazines. Here's a little chart with some points for comparison:

Scholarly Journals vs. Magazines
 
Articles in Scholarly Journals:
Articles in Magazines
Who wrote the article? Are written by a researcher, scholar, or practitioner Are written by journalists, freelance writers, editorial staff
Who is the intended audience? Are written for other scholars, professionals, or students Are written for the general public
What is the purpose of the publication? Report original research, experiments, or theories Report or persuade
Does the author cite her sources? Always have footnotes or bibliography Rarely have footnotes or bibliography, or cite sources even informally.
Examples Psychological Bulletin, Journal of Marriage and the Family, Harvard Educational Review Prevention, Shape, Reader's Digest