Periodicals (also called serials) are publications printed in intervals that continue to be printed for an indefinite period of time. Journals, magazines, and newspapers are types of periodicals. Journals contain published articles written by scholars and researchers. Journals are often published by professional associations Magazines contain published articles written for a general audience. Articles in magazines rarely include bibliographies.

Five Steps to Finding Journal and Magazine Articles

Choose and refine your topic   Sometimes choosing a topic is the biggest hurdle in doing research. Your instructor may assign a general or specific topic, or the choice may be up to you. Knowing where to look for ideas will help you find an interesting subject. It is important to consider refining your topic

Choose appropriate databases   Choosing the appropriate database to meet your research needs is essential to locating the most current and best information. Estrella Mountain has many databases with the full text of thousands of magazines and journals. They are located under Magazines, Newspaper and Journals and Special Databases on the Library page.

Search databases   Databases are large storehouses of data that contain small sets of related information called records. Online periodical databases are collections of magazines that can be searched and accessed Here are some general tips:

• Use synonyms, related words.
• Put phrases in quotes, use truncation when appropriate (usually an asterisk), use Boolean operators
• Limit searches by language, by date range, by type of document, by specifying number of pages, etc.

Accessing articles    Each database presents search results in a unique format, however there are some similarities that hold true in most cases:

• All records are numbered, and the search retrieved will display the total number of records.
• 10 records are usually displayed per screen
• Records are presented with the most recent displayed first, with the list moving back in time to the oldest record.

Printing or saving articles    Most databases offer the option of printing, e-mailing, or saving search results. NOTE: most Internet browsers allow for printing, emailing or downloading of web pages even when this is not a database feature. Check the database's online help for further information on these functions.

Journals & Magazines via the Internet