Human Animal Studies: Types of Articles

The Internet is a great place to find good restaurants, hotels and basic information about many things. Google, the top search engine, makes finding that information easy. 

When you are doing research for a college assignment, however, it is important to find valid, reliable information from credible sources. Databases will give you that kind of information.

There are three basic types of periodicals. Each can be used for research.  Your professor may specify the type of source required. What are the differences?

Popular Magazines

 Articles in popular magazines are written by journalists, reporters or staff on the magazine.  Some magazine articles have no listed  author. These articles are designed for the general public and have glossy pages with photographs and advertising. They may  include information from more scholarly studies. Magazines have editors and fact checkers who make sure the material included is reliable and accurate.  Some useful magazines for current topics include, Time, Newsweek, US News & World Report and The Nation. Magazines for business include Forbes, INC,  and Fortune. Other popular magazines include Sports Illustrated, Vogue, Latina, Essence and Psychology Today.

Scholarly Journals 

 Articles in scholarly journals are written by experts in their fields.  Often the articles report on studies or analysis and include charts, data or specific criticism of a literary work.  Scholarly journals are often called "peer-reviewed" because the articles must go through an approval process by other scholars before they are published. The articles are generally longer, more academic and include a list of sources at the end.  Scholarly journals generally  do not have glossy pages, photographs or advertising. Each field has its own set of journals or "literature" as they are sometimes called. Examples include Harvard Business Review, The Journal of the American Medical Association, Studies in Short Fiction and Journal of Psychology. 

Newspapers

Articles in newspapers are written by journalists, reporters and freelance staffers. Often, no author is listed. The byline indicates the name of the author. They generally focus on breaking events, but may also be stories or series that expose particular problems in society. Articles are generally short and less detailed than those in a magazine or scholarly journal. High quality newspapers use editors and fact checkers to authenticate accuracy of a story before it is published. National newspapers include The New York Times, The Washington Post, The L.A. Times and The Wall Street Journal.  Local newspapers include Newsday, Times Union (Albany) and The Daily Record (Rochester). Never use a supermarket tabloid for research.

 You can use the databases from home!

If you access them through the LibGuide you will need to authenticate.

 When prompted, enter your username (N #) and password (PIN).

Search for the article from the database links on this page!

If you use the NCC Portal, click on the Library link and then Library Databases.

You will then be able to select the database by name or or by academic subject, ex Psychology.