GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF JOURNALS
- Audience: Scholars, specialists, and students
- Coverage: Research results, frequently theoretical in nature
- Written By: Specialists in the field; usually scholars with PhDs
- Timeliness: Current coverage (6 months - 3 years )
- Length: greater than 2,500 - 10,000 words
- Content: Detailed examination; statistical analysis; graphics; bibliography usually included
- Slant: Supposed to present objective/neutral viewpoint; may be difficult to comprehend because of technical language or jargon; often sponsored by professional associations
HOW TO IDENTIFY A JOURNAL
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Published quarterly, seasonally, and sometimes monthly; never weekly or daily.
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Volume and issue number easily identifiable.
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References included. Magazines and newspapers do not include references.
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Read the journal description in the database.
JOURNAL EXAMPLES
- JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association
- American Journal of Psychology
- Journal of Counseling Psychology
- American Sociological Review
- Journal of Music Therapy
- The Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching
- Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing
- Journal of Dental Technology
TRY A JOURNAL FOR:
- Case studies of children growing up in single-parent homes.
- Comparison study of economic stability in single-father versus single-mother homes.
- Psychological analysis of children who experience bitter custody battles.
JOURNALS IN SUGGESTED PBCC DATABASES:
- CINAHL PLUS with Full Text (EBSCO) On Campus | Off Campus
Indexes over 1200 nursing journals and covers the fields of nursing, biomedicine, health sciences librarianship, alternative/complementary medicine, consumer health and 17 other allied health disciplines.
- JSTOR On Campus | Off Campus
Provides an archive of full-text scholarly journals from Arts & Sciences I & II, Ecology & Botany, and General Science collections. Because of JSTOR's archival mission, there is a gap, typically from 1 to 5 years, between the most recently published journal issue and the back issues available in JSTOR. – journals in multiple disciplines.
- LexisNexis Academic (LexisNexis) On Campus | Off Campus | Tutorial
Contains journals in the legal, business and medical fields.
- PsycArticles (EBSCO) On Campus | Off Campus
Provides full-text, peer-reviewed scholarly and scientific articles in psychology. It contains more than 100,000 articles from 59 journals - 48 published by the American Psychological Association (APA) and 11 from allied organizations. It includes all journal articles, letters to the editor, and errata from each journal. Coverage spans 1894 to present.
- Various databases contain peer-reviewed academic journals together with the collections of magazines and newspapers. These include the general databases of EBSCO, Gale, and Wilson. For example: Academic Search Complete (EBSCO) / On Campus | Off Campus, Academic OneFile (Gale) / On Campus | Off Campus, and OmniFile Full Text Mega (Wilson) / On Campus | Off Campus.
Don’t find a journal? At the top of the Online Databases page, choose Electronic Journals and search by title... or ask a librarian.
E-JOURNALS
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Type of web page / website.
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Unlike ejournals in databases, no corresponding print copies exist and access is typically free.
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How does one tell the difference between an e-journal and a web page? Look for evidence of regular, continuous and/or periodic publication. Is it published monthly? Quarterly? Is there a volume and issue number AND are references included? It may be an e-journal. Do not confuse an e-journal with an e-zine. (See also "Selecting Magazines").
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Adapted from UCLA Library website with permission statement as follows (retrieved 15 Feb. 2007): “Permission is granted for unlimited non-commercial use of this exercise.” See UCLA website at <http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/help/selectsource/index.htm>.
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