Developmental Writing: Articles

Scholarly Journals:

• Written by and for faculty, researchers and/or scholars
• Present original research studies and reviews of relevant books in the industry/field
• Reviewed by other experts or peers (i.e. "peer reviewed") before publication
• Use technical and/or scholarly language associated with the subject
• Use citations (footnotes, endnotes, or bibliography/references)
• Share a similar format including: abstract, literature review, methodology, results and conclusion.  May also have tables, graphs or illustrations to support arguments made
• Examples: American Journal of Nursing, Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, etc.

Technical/Trade Journals:

• Written by professionals and/or experts in the field
• Present practical information for professionals in the field, including news, trends, job opportunities, and other updates 
• Articles are generally brief and the language is straightforward; may contain professional jargon
• May not have a specific format
• Articles are sometimes unsigned or will display the author's credentials
• Reviewed by general editors of the journal
• Advertising is used to appeal to those in the field
• Examples: Adweek, The Lawyer, Nursing Times, etc.

Popular Magazines:

• Written for the general public with easy to understand language and subject appeal
• Glossy cover and photographs
• Many advertisements in the publication
• Articles are edited by magazine editors 
• May not have a discernable format
• Authors are usually professional journalists, but may not have any experience/knowledge in the field about which they are writing 
• May not have citations or may provide informal citations (even when there are tables, graphs and/or illustrations)
• Examples:  TIME, Rollingstone, Newsweek, Psychology Today, People, etc.
• YOU CAN STILL USE POPULAR PERIODICALS FOR YOUR RESEARCH(unless stated by your instructor and these do NOT count as scholarly peer-reviewed articles)! Just make sure to support your use of these articles with scholarly articles, which will have original research and in-depth citations to ensure your information is relevant, accurate and up-to-date  

Hunter Library has a great comparison of these types of articlesavailable for more information: http://researchguides.wcu.edu/scholarly

OR watch the following quick, fun video from Kimbel Library about popular vs. scholarly sources (there are sock puppets involved!): http://vimeo.com/13186317

Start with the following databases to locate scholarly articles for your research and remember to use the following search tips:

• Limit results to full-text.

• Choose to view academic peer-reviewed journals.

• Select PDF format over HTML format.

• Use folders to save selected articles.

• Check reference lists and/or bibliographies at the end of a work for further research/information.

• When you find an article you like, look at the subject terms used to classify it and perform a subject search in the same database using those EXACT terms (spelling, grammar + punctuation must be the same in a subject search). 
  

• You can also start your research in a different database using a previous database's subject terms as keywords.  Every database uses different subject terms so you cannot interchange these terms between databases--not unless you see an article use that same subject heading.  However, using a previous database's subject terms as keywords will still increase your chance of retrieving relevant articles because these terms are more frequent in scholarly/academic circles.  

NOTE:  Searching using keywords will retrieve ANY document that mentions/uses that keyword at least once, regardless of whether or not that document is actually about that keyword. 

Searching using a database provided "subject term" guarantees that any article you retrieve will have that term as the "subject/topic" of discussion. However, only the "words/phrases" a database provides as a "subject term" can be used in a subject search.    

DATABASES to start with:

The library subscribes to several databases that have various newspaper and magazine collections.  Some of our most popular and general periodical databases are featured below.

OFF-CAMPUS ACCESS

After selecting a resource a  you will be asked for your Username and Password (this will authenticate you for a search session).  Use your EagleID.

1. EagleID is the first 4 characters of your last name plus the last 4 digits of your Campus Wide I.D. (CWID) number. If your last name is 3 characters long or less, just use those letters. If your name has a special character, such as an apostrophe or space, omit the special character and just use the letters. See the examples below: 
   
   Jones, John / 123456789 à jone6789
   Lee, Kelly / 123456789 à Lee6789
   O'Brian, Carol / 123456789 à OBri6789

   Initial Password The initial Password is Tamut followed by the last four digits of your CWID number (example Tamut6789).

2. Lastly, the authentication process uses "cookies" to remember that you are logged in for that session only. Once you close the browser, your session will terminate. It will be necessary to log in for each session.
    

3. Self-Reset Password instructions.  Recommended to do this sooner rather than later.  Then you can self reset your password when you forget off campus and or during the weekend.

Having trouble with EagleID Login or Password Self-Service did not work, call IT Service desk 903-334-6603.  To report problems or need help with a database contact the library.