How to Find Articles in Journals, Magazines, & Newspapers
From Library Reference
Contents |
Definitions
General Information--Definitions
Periodicals (also called journals, magazines, newspapers, serials, etc.) are the types of sources that will have the most recent information on a topic. To find the articles contained in periodicals, you need to use an index. Otherwise, you would have to go through each periodical, issue-by-issue! Indexes are big time-savers!
Indexes are search tools. They are used to find appropriate and useful information in a large collection of information. Some examples of indexes are: The Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature, and Lexis-Nexis Academic.
Database is a word that is often used to describe the online version of an index. Many indexes include at least some full-text information.
Federated Searching is a term that refers to a search tool that searches multiple indexes/databases simultaneously.
Full-Text refers to the inclusion of the text of the article with the indexing. In some cases full-text is included as an image of the original article (.pdf). It may also be included as plain text or an .html file. If you need pictures, tables, or charts look for full-text in .pdf or .html formats. Plain text formatted articles seldom include pictures, tables, or charts from the original article.
"Get It" and "SFX" are terms that refer to linking software that works behind the scenes to find full-text for the articles indexed. Using the "Get It" button from within an article citation in an index/database will help you to find the full-text of the article in other indexes/databases to which the Library subscribes.
Link Resolver is a term that refers to software that searches through the indexes/databases to which a library subscribes to find the full-text of articles. "SFX" is the name of the link resolver we use. Clicking on the "Get It" button that appears in various indexes/databases gets the "SFX" software started in a search for full-text. Some indexes/databases don't allow the "Get It" button to show, so you may see a message instead that says something like, "See more details for locating this item" or "Check full-text availability".
Follow this sequence to begin a subject search:
Go to the Library home page
Look in the column headed, Finding Information
Select Articles from Indexes & Databases
Then select, Databases -- Indexes by Subject
Subject Research Guides
Subject research guides are available for most topics. Appropriate sources and indexes for your research are listed in each guide.
Ask a Librarian
When you need help, ask a librarian. Call the Reference Desk (677-3502), contact a subject librarian by e-mail or phone Librarians by Subject Areas, or use the online-chat reference service, Ask?Away Illinois.
General Tips for Success
- Keep records of the sources you used to find useful information.
- Keep records of materials ordered from other libraries.
The following tips are true in most indexes:
- When you search by subject, you need to be willing to try different terms. Try synonyms, for example: schools, high schools, colleges, universities, academic institutions, etc.)
- Usually a search works best if you try specific terms. (Example: pre-school or middle school, rather than the generic “school.”
- You can often get better results if you use more than one concept in a search. You can combine concepts with the word AND to get articles that cover both concepts. (Example: day-care AND disease; acid rain AND parks)
- Indexes usually work with keywords, not full sentences or extended phrases.
- Not all indexes are full-text. They may provide an abstract (summary) of the article, not the actual text. They do, however, provide the citation (i.e., the information you need to find the article in a library), and a link to the "Get It" button.
- Most so-called full-text indexes don’t have full-text of the articles 100% of the time.
- Each index will be a bit different. What works well in one may not work so well in another.
- Most indexes have some HELP function that may help you set up a search.
- Many indexes have a little circle containing the letter “i” to indicate information. In some cases, the information tells you more about the index as a whole (for instance what kind of information is covered by that index), and in some cases the information tells you about a specific function or feature of the index. When you see an "i" next to the name of a journal, clicking on the "i" will tell often tell you which issues of the journal are available from the index/database, and how frequently updates are included.
- Some indexes use tabs or other indicators to supply additional information.
- In most cases, the indexes make it easy for you to email results to yourself.
- Lists of results are usually displayed, showing the most recent issues first. Sometimes list results are displayed showing the most relevant articles first. Often you can change the sort order.
- Using print, save, and e-mail functions within the index will almost always work better than using the same functions that are part of your browser (e.g. Internet Explorere).
Database Example: Academic Search Premier
- Notice that you have three search boxes for entering keywords (the top box has the word Find to the left of it.)
- Each search box is followed by the word IN and a box that says "Select a field (optional)" with a pull-down arrow at the right end. The default (what happens if you don't make other selections) option is to leave the boxes on the right with the "Select a field (optional)" wording intact.
- Depending on the complexity of your search, you could enter search terms in from one to three boxes.
- Note that the boxes are linked with Boolean or Logical operators (And, Or, & Not).
- Additional ways to limit your search appear below the search boxes, in the tab labeled, "Refine Search".
- When you enter keywords into the search bar, be as specific as necessary, and combine concepts with the word “AND.” Example: If you enter a single word like “currency,” you will get over 19,000 hits (articles containing the key word)! If you enter “currency and europe,” the result is about 2,300; but, if you enter “currency and italy,” you get only about 260 hits. To make the search even more precise, you may want to specify the type of currency: ”lire and italy” (59 hits).
- If your subject is necessarily broad, you can limit the number of inappropriate hits by using some of the "Refine Search" options or by selecting specific fields for searching, in the "Select a field (optional)" box(es). You could select "Title" or "Subject Terms", for instance, as search fields, making it more likely that the term you are searching is a central concept of the articles your search nets.
- "Refine Search" options allow for limiting by the type of article, type of publications, length of article, and more.
- After you enter your search, hit ENTER or the SEARCH key. You will get a listing of the resulting articles, showing the most recent publication first. Some of the article listings will note the availability of full-text (in text, .html, or .pdf formats). Article citations also have notations as to whether the source is held locally (e.g. owned in print-on-paper or microfilm by Bradley) and links for checking on the availability of full-text from other online sources (e.g. "Get It" or "SFX".
- If you click on the full-text link, you will get the entire article, which you can print off (8 cents a page with a copy card or QuickCash; copy cards are sold at at the Circulation Desk for $2.00) or email to yourself.
- If, from the listing of articles, you click on the underlined title of the article, you will get the citation (title of the article, title of the periodical, date, page number, etc.), a listing of the subject headings that were used to describe this article, and an abstract (summary) of the contents of the article.
- The listing of subject headings is helpful especially when you are dealing with a subject that does not get many hits. The subject headings can lead you in other directions to broaden your search or to help you think of your subject in a different way.
- If an article does not have a full-text link (either in the citation or through "SFX") you will get a response from "SFX" with a link for ordering the article through Interlibrary Loan.
There are many additional options for searching in Academic Search Premier. If you'd like to learn more about it, click on the Help button at the top of the search screen, or stop by the Reference Desk for additional instructions. If you're not on campus, you can get reference assistance online or by phone. See the Reference & Information Services page for links.
Don't See What You're Looking For?
If you didn't find the help you were looking for on this page, please call, e-mail, or append a comment to let us know what kind of research assistance you were seeking. We are here to help, and we want to know if our services could be made more useful. Thank you for helping us build a better Reference Service. For a list of who to contact, go to: http://library.bradley.edu/staff/liaison.shtml
You can access many of the Library's research resources from the Library's home page, at:
http://library.bradley.edu/
--Johnson@bradley 11:46, 17 April 2012 (CDT)
