Tutorial Home Page

Finding Articles:

• Brief Overview
• Magazines vs. journals
• What's an Index?
• Choosing an index
• What's a citation?
• Get the articles
• What is full text?
• Search tips
• Citing articles

It is important to understand the difference between a "magazine" and a "scholarly journal". It can sometimes be difficult to make the distinction but here are several clues to help you with that process:

Journals

• Generally feature articles written by specialists in the discipline coverered by the journal.
• Use the language of that particular discipline.
• Are, for the most part, text-based, without pictures or glossy illustrations.
• Feature bibliographies and/or footnotes for each article.

Magazines

• Generally feature articles that are short in nature (1-4 pages).
• Use lots of photographs and illustrations.
• Use fairly simple language intended for a general audience.
• Often are designed to entertain as much to inform.
• Feature articles written by journalists who are not necessarily experts in the field.