English 100 - Morrison - Online Library Resources: Search for Popular Articles

HOW TO VIDEO:

A library database is both an electronic catalog and the access point to information from published works, such as magazines, newspapers, encyclopedias, journals and other resources.

• Library databases provide access to authoritative information sources.

• Library databases provide access to resources across a wide spectrum of topic and subject areas.

• Library databases provide access to many years worth of published information at no cost to students.

• Library databases allow you to to limit or expand your search results by using the Boolean operators AND, OR, NOT.

• Library databases give you citation information to help you locate and cite the articles.

• Library databases give you an abstract or summary to tell you what the article is about.

• Most Library databases provide articles in full-text or PDF format.

There are many more databases than those listed below. See the Database Page for a complete description of the Cerritos College Library online resources.  You will need to log in to the databases using your student ID number and your password is you 8-digit birthday (MMDDYYYY).

Remember:

• Always search databases using only the keywords that best describe your topic
• Keywords can be combined into a search string with the operators "and", "or", "not"

MasterFile Complete, Academic Search Complete, and SocINDEX with Full Text all come from the company (EBSCO) and are searched in the same way.  It is possible to search all three of them at once if you like.  MasterFile Complete has more popular articles than the two databases.  Academic Search Complete has some popular, but more scholarly articles and SocINDEX has almost exclusively academic articles related to sociology.

US Major Dailies, Ethnic NewsWatch, and Gender Watch all  come from the same company and can be searched in the same way.  It is possible to search all three of them at once if you like.  US Major Dailies contains exclusively articles from large, U.S. newspapers.  Newspaper articles are considered popular articles.  Ethnic NewsWatch indexes news sources that come from ethnic communities like La Opinion or The Sentinel.  There is only a little scholarly content in Ethnic NewsWatch.  GenderWatch has primarily scholarly articles.  This is a good database to search if you are searching topics related to gender or LGBTQ issues.

HOW TO VIDEO: Finding Scholarly Articles (shows how to search in GenderWatch)

What is a Scholarly Journal?

Scholarly journals are generally published by and for experts. A publication is considered to be peer reviewed if its articles go through an official editorial process that involves review and approval by the author’s peers (people who are experts in the same subject area.) Articles in scholarly journals present new, previously unpublished research. Scholarly sources will almost always include:

• Bibliography and footnotes
• Author’s name and academic credentials

Use scholarly journals for highly focused original research. 

Examples: AMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, African American Review, Modern Fiction Studies, American Psychologist and American Sociological Review 

What is a Popular Magazine?

Articles in popular magazines tend to be written by staff writers or freelance journalists and are geared towards a general audience. While most magazines adhere to editorial standards, articles do not go through a peer review process and rarely contain bibliographic citations. Popular magazines are periodicals that one typically finds at grocery stores, airport newsstands, or bookstores. Use popular magazines for a general overview of current news and opinions, or firsthand accounts of an event.

Examples: Popular magazines range from highly respected publications such as Scientific American and The Atlantic Monthly to general interest magazines like People, Sports Illustrated and Newsweek and US News & World Report.

What is a Trade Publication?

Trade publications focus on a specific profession or trade. Articles in trade magazines cover the interest of skilled laborers, technicians, and artisans. Professional magazines cover the interests of professors, librarians, and members of other fields that require advanced degrees. Subject magazines cover a topic of interest to one or more professions. Use trade magazines for overviews of news and research in a particular field.

Examples: Legal Assistant Today and Library Journal

For some research assignments, it is important to use primary sources, instead of or in addition to secondary sources. What’s the difference?

Primary sources are original documents or objects—first-hand information or the raw material. These original documents are often diaries, letters, memoirs, journals, speeches, or interviews. They may also include published pieces such as newspaper or magazine articles, as long as they are written soon after the fact and not as historical accounts. Eye witness accounts, photographs, audio or video recordings, research reports in the natural or social sciences, or original literary or theatrical works are also considered primary sources.

Secondary sources interpret primary sources. Secondary sources include comments on, interpretations of, or discussions about the original material. You can think of secondary sources as second-hand information. Secondary source materials can be articles in newspapers or popular magazines, book or movie reviews, or articles found in scholarly journals that evaluate or criticize someone else’s original research.

Examples of Primary and Secondary Sources