Introduction to Research: Finding Articles
Finding Journal Articles Handout
Articles are important in your research. They are excellent for detailed and current information on a topic. These articles are from publications that are printed "periodically" in daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or irregular intervals. Types of periodicals include journals, magazines, yearbooks, and newspapers.
Use periodical/article indexes to find citations to articles in periodical publications. They are often subject-oriented and list author, title, name of periodical, volume, pages and date of publication in entries called bibliographic citations.
Choose appropriate indexes or databases by checking Browse Databases by Subject or Research by Subject for a guide as to what indexes would be best for your field of study. If you are unsure as to what index you should use for your particular topic, ask at the Research Help Desk.
Apply the same keyword strategies in electronic indexes that were successful in finding books. For an overview of searching electronic databases, go to the guide Using Boolean Operators.
Before searching, note the time coverage and the content of the electronic index (some are full text, others have only citations and some have citations and abstracts).
Print indexes are still valuable resources. They often cover more years than electronic indexes, some going back to the 19th century. Note time coverage and content of the print index and other information such as a guide to any abbreviations used in the index.
Remember to record the complete article citation:
- Author
- Article title
- Journal or magazine title
- Volume number of the journal or magazine
- Date of publication
- Page numbers
- Section or column number (for newspaper citations)
Search QCAT to see if Queen's Library has a specific journal. After typing in the title in the search box, select Journal Exact in the drop-down menu.
Make sure that Queen's has the issue that you need. Periodicals are available in many different formats: loose issues, bound paper volumes, microfilm, and/or electronic.
Last Updated: 02 May 2012
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