Locating Articles (Magazines, Journals & Newspapers)

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Articles from periodicals are a key information resource.

Published at regular intervals (monthly, quarterly, daily, etc.), periodicals include popular magazines, scholarly journals, and subject or professional publications. Depending on information needs and research requirements, different types of periodical articles may need to be used.

A particular periodical may be available in an online database or in a library's paper journal collection or in both or in neither.

Your should be familiar with:

  • different types of periodicals
  • tools and services for locating specific types of articles
    • Full Text Journal Title Search
    • NovaCat (periodical searching)
    • OCLC Union List of Periodicals
    • SHELLs
    • library catalogs
    • interlibrary loan and document delivery

Technological changes now make many periodicals available electronically. However, some periodicals will be available in a combination of formats - older issues may be in paper or microfiche formats, and more recent issues may be available electronically. Tools for locating journals in libraries will help you locate a specific periodical title.

Use the online databases available in the Electronic Resources section at www.nova.edu/library/eleclib/ to locate

  • article citations
  • abstracts
  • full-text and/or full-image–when available

Many of the online databases that NSU subscribes to contain full-text of articles. To find out if a particular periodical is available full-text in one of these databases, use the Full-Text Journal Title Search tools.

Types of Periodicals

Periodicals have a variety of purposes and kinds of audiences. Magazines may be appropriate for some purposes, journals of opinion for others, but usually the most important sources for college level research are academic journals.

The definitions below will help you understand these terms:

  • Magazines are commercial publications intended for a general, popular audience for the purpose of informing and entertaining.

  • Journals are specialized, scholarly publications written by authorities in the field. They usually include bibliographies.

  • Subject or professional/practitioner magazines are between magazines and journals, with articles written by experts but intended less to advance the field than to report on developments of interest.

  • Trade journals are also between magazines and journals, but their focus includes more product and business information.

Primary & Secondary Sources

Another distinction made about research materials is between primary and secondary sources:

  • Primary sources–eyewitness accounts, laboratory data, interviews, original manuscripts, or original research, published in either paper or other formats that may include microform and electronic reproduction. Examples are diaries, letters, speeches, minutes of meetings, scientific research reports, and news footage.

  • Secondary sources–works that interpret primary sources, and includes reviews, criticism, editorials, and analysis. Most journal articles are secondary sources that provide analysis, interpretation, or evaluation by the writer.

Peer Reviewed or Refereed Journals

Peer reviewed or refereed journals are journals where the quality of the articles is maintained by a review process by experts prior to publication. Ulrich's Periodicals Directory, available online in the Electronic Resources section, allows you to search for refereed journals for a general discipline or to search for a specific periodical title and identify the characteristics of the publication. Several databases, including ProQuest Research Library, InfoTrac's Expanded Academic ASAP, and WilsonWeb, allow users to limit their search to refereed journals only.

Ulrich's Periodicals Directory

Ulrich's Periodicals Directory provides essential information on nearly a quarter of a million consumer and trade magazines, academic and scholarly publications, monographic series, newsletters, newspapers, electronic publications, 'zines, and many other types of serial publications and services published throughout the world on all subjects. Entries include bibliographic information; pricing, subscription, and distribution details; key publisher, editor, rights & permissions and advertising contact; access options; document delivery, indexing services, online vendors; annotations/brief content descriptions; and more. It also includes information on almost 55,000 ceased titles.

To search for refereed publications for a general discipline or subject area

  • type a general search term–such as computers or education or psychology–in the Subject field
  • select Refereed in the Features options
  • click the search button


Subject search in Ulrich's Periodicals Directory.

To search for a specific periodical title

  • type a periodical title in the Title (Keyword) field
  • click the search button

Search results will contain matching journal titles listed in alphabetical order. Each refereed title will have the little refereed icon Refeered icon, as shown below


Search result showing icon for referred titles.

Expanded Academic ASAP (InfoTrac)

Expanded Academic Index integrates core titles in every major academic concentration; area- and issue-specific journals; academic journals with application in the professions; and publications with national news coverage and commentary. It includes 1,500 scholarly, trade and general-interest publications, as well as references for The New York Times. Subject coverage includes astronomy, religion, law, history, psychology, humanities, current events, sociology, communications and the general sciences.

After selecting Expanded Academic ASAP from the database listings in the Electronic Resources section you will be connected to the InfoTrac page. You will then need to

  • click on Proceed
  • scroll down and click on Expanded Academic ASAP–either the graphic to the left of the database name, the linked title of the database or the Start searching this collection link below the database description

To search for refereed publications in Expanded Academic

  • type your search terms in the entry box(es)
  • limiting your search to refereed publications is one of the options below the search boxes
  • click in the check box to the left of peer-reviewed publications
  • click the Search button


Limiting to peer reviewed publications in Expanded Academic.

ProQuest Research Library (ProQuest Direct)

ProQuest covers 1,500 general and academic journals, including education, psychology, social sciences, computer science, business, and many others topics. It also includes the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY and Barron's. Coverage is from 1987 to present, with weekly updates. ProQuest content includes selected full-text and full-image articles.

To search for peer reviewed publications in ProQuest databases

  • type your search terms in the entry box(es)
  • limiting your search to peer reviewed publications is one of the options below the search boxes
  • click in the check box to the left of Scholarly journals, including peer-reviewed
  • click the Search button


Limiting to peer reviewed publications in ProQuest.

Omnifile Full Text Mega (WilsonWeb)

WilsonWeb OmniFile Full Text Mega is a multi-disciplinary database providing the complete content–indexing, abstracts, and full text–from six of WilsonWeb's full-text databases including Education Full Text, General Science Full Text, Humanities Full Text, Readers' Guide Full Text, Social Sciences Full Text, and Business Full Text. Full-text articles from five additional periodical databases are also included when available: Applied Science & Technology Full Text, Art Full Text, Biological & Agricultural Index, Index to Legal Periodicals & Books, and Library Literature & Information Science Full Text.

WilsonWeb's OmniFile Full Text Mega is available in the Electronic Resources section. The databases in the Electronic Resources section may be accessed in several ways

To search for peer reviewed publications in Wilson databases

  • type your search terms in the entry box(es)
  • limiting your search to peer reviewed publications is one of the options below the search boxes
  • click in the check box to the right of peer reviewed:
  • click the Start button


Limiting to peer reviewed publications in Wilson databases.

Locating Specific Types of Journal Articles

Specific types of journal articles can be used as part of a database search. If you need to limit your search to a specific type of journal, use the following terms as part of your search:

  • Quantitative research–systematic, empirical observation, followed by the application of statistical tests. Other terms to try include empirical study, original research, empirical research, and statistical analysis.

  • Empirical research–any research involving the collection of new data. Other terms to try include empirical study, original research, and quantitative research.

  • Literature review–summarizes previous important literature on a particular topic. Other terms to try include research review.

  • Meta analysis–takes the results of several existing studies and analyzes them in a new way looking for previously unnoticed patterns or trends. Other terms to try include action based research, action research, and practicum.

  • Qualitative research–research providing detailed narrative descriptions and explanations of phenomena investigated, with lesser emphasis given to numerical quantifications.

  • Case study–detailed analyses focusing on a particular problem of an individual, group, or organization. Other terms to try include cross sectional studies, facility case studies, longitudinal studies, and case records.

  • Change theory–theories and assumptions about the nature of change and how change can best be encouraged and facilitated. Other terms to try include change strategies or educational change.

  • Theory–generalizations or principles supported by substantial evidence, but not conclusively proven, proposed as explanations of observed phenomena or the relations in a given body of facts. Other terms to try include theoretical models, models, and names of specific theories.

  • Practitioner–information written by experts in the field aimed primarily at reporting on developments of interest rather than reporting research. Other terms to try include practitioners. Some databases, such as ERIC, allow searches to be limited by the target audience group, practitioners.

Consult the Subject Guides: Research Methods for additional assistance.