Find Articles - English 100 - Prof. Chavolla - LibGuides at Cerritos College

Video Introduction

HOW TO VIDEO: Searching Masterfile Complete for Articles

HOW TO VIDEO: Searching US Major Dailies

NOTE: You can search Masterfile Complete, Academic Search Complete, SOCIndex, and America: History and Life at the same time.

Recommended Databases

MasterFile Complete This link opens in a new window
Contains full-text for more than 2,400 magazines and journals, 850 reference books, and more than 73,000 primary source documents covering general news, reference, business, health, education, general science, and more including image collections of photos, maps and flags.
Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
Multi-disciplinary full text for more than 12,000 scholarly journals, including nearly 6,000 peer-reviewed titles. Offers information in nearly every area of academic study including: computer sciences, engineering, physics, chemistry, language and linguistics, arts & literature, medical sciences, ethnic studies, and many more. Also includes many popular magazines.
SocINDEX with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive sociology research database. Great for research on human behavior, societies, and organizations. Full text for more than 860 journals dating back to 1908, more than 830 books and monographs, and over 16,800 conference papers.
America: History and Life with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Includes literature covering the history and culture of the United States and Canada, from prehistory to the present. It includes selective indexing for 1,700 journals from 1955 to present as well as full-text coverage of more than 200 journals and nearly 100 books. Click here for title list.
US Major Dailies This link opens in a new window
ProQuest's full-text collection of twenty-one major US newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal. Coverage from 1980 - present.
GenderWatch This link opens in a new window
ProQuest's full-text collection of publications that focus on the impact of gender across a broad spectrum of subject areas. Includes academic and scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, regional publications, books, booklets, and government and non-governmental organization special reports.

Scholarly Journals, Popular Magazines, Trade Publications

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