For journals/issues we do not have, we may be able to obtain the article for you through Interlibrary Loan. In a hurry? Check the WorldCat catalog to see if any nearby libraries have it available for you to read.
Basic Definitions
- Periodical
- A publication that appears at fixed intervals, such as a journal, magazine or newspaper.
- Go to Types of Periodicals for more explanation.
- Article
- A piece of writing on a specific topic, by one or more authors, that forms an independent part of a periodical publication such as a journal or serial, magazine, or newspaper.
- Article Indexes
- These databases allow you to identify articles that have been published in periodicals on a given topic. They may be general, or focus on specific subjects.
They provide:
- citation (author, article title, source journal and date)
- abstract (summary of the article)
- sometimes the full text (the entire article will be diplayed on your computer screen)
Types of Periodicals/Articles
- Journals
- Formal articles in which researchers report their new work to colleagues.
- Peer-reviewed
- journals send articles to other experts for comment before accepting them.
- Ex: Current Anthropology; Journal of the American Medical Association; Nature
- Note: Scholarly journals may include news articles, editorials, book reviews, etc. along with research articles. If you need a true research article, look for the formal layout and lots of works cited.
- Trade journals
- News, features and career information by and for professionals in a field.
- Ex: Nursing; CADalyst; Mathematics Teacher
- Magazines
- News and features for the general public or for interested amateurs in a field.
- Ex: Time; Discover; Harper's; Art News; Archaeology; National Geographic
- Newspapers
- Report global, national and regional events and provide a public opinion forum.
- Ex: Oregonian; New York Times; Wall Street Journal
Getting Articles
- Check the CCC Article Indexes to find your article.
- Check the CCC catalog to see if CCC library owns the source journal. (If so, it will be shelved by title in the Periodicals section of the library.)
- For journals/issues we do not have, we may be able to obtain the article for you through Interlibrary Loan.