There a large number of databases available, each
one different from another in a variety of ways. They may have very
different search features and options. Some databases are subject
specific while others cover a more general, broad-based range of subject
areas. They may provide full online access to some or all of the
items (article, book, video, etc.), or they may provide only an abstract
or partial clip, or just list the item's citation information.
In the field of Special Education Academic
Search Premier, ERIC and Education Journals are great databases to
start with for just about any topic. From there, depending on your topic, you may want to look at other subject specific databases. For instance Lexis-Nexis Academic provides information on state and federal regulations as well as legal cases relating to education while psycholgy databases can provide additional articles relating to behavior or cognitive development.
Q: What is a scholarly journal? A:
These are articles written by people considered to be experts in their
fields. They spend years conducting experiments, reviewing other
literature on the topic, and writing their article. It often goes
through a very intense review process to make sure the information is
objective and accurate. It can often take a year or two for it to be
published. A: Nothing- all three are just different names for the same idea. A: Here are some things to look for in order to determine if an article is scholarly: Often start with an abstract, or summary, of the article. Include footnotes or bibliographies. Generally are longer than articles in popular or news magazines. Are reviewed (refereed) by an editorial board and revised before being accepted for publication. Include the language, or jargon, of the subject discipline. It assumes some degree of subject knowledge by the reader. Report original research or experimentation results. Are authored by subject experts, researchers, or scholars in their fields. Author credentials are frequently listed. Are
published by professional organizations, such as the American Medical
Association (Journal of the American Medical Association), or the
National Council on Family Relations (Journal of Marriage and the
Family). A:
Many of the library databases allow you to limit your search results to
journals that are scholarly. That does not mean that you will only get
scholarly articles though. You want to review the articles that come
back and make sure they meet the qualifications. Q: What is the difference between a scholarly journal, a trade journal and a popular magazine? A: A trade journal is typically from professional organizations in a specific field, but articles are not peer reviewed. They are a great way to find out current issues and practices in a specific field. Some professional organizations will have a scholarly journal and a trade journal. Popular magazines are like Time, Newsweek, Vogue or Sports Illustrated. These articles are written by journalists and are for the general public. They are a good way to get an introduction to a topic.
Q: What's the difference between a peer reviewed journal, academic journal and scholarly journal?
Q: How can I tell if an article is scholarly?
Q: How can I find these articles?
AND | NARROWS RESULTS | results must include both words | e.g. athletes AND injuries |
OR | BROADENS RESULTS | results can include either word | e.g. athletes OR players |
NOT | NARROWS RESULTS | results must not include the second word | e.g. athletes NOT professional |
Sometimes you may come across a citation or even a partial citation of an article that you need or want to find. Some of the common reasons why this might happen are:
To help you quickly discover if you can get the article from one of our online journals or the library's print collection we provide a Journal locator tool on the library's homepage - mouse over Research and click on the Journals link in the green dropdown, then click on Journal Locator (or use the Journal Locator tool embedded below). All you need is the name of the journal, which you can type in the box below (if you don't know the exact journal title, you can click on the down arrow and search by "Title Contains All Words" instead of the default "Title Begins With") and then hit the Search button. It will bring you to a results screen where you will see one or more of the following:
Note: If you are in one of our library databases, you will see a "Get Article" or "Find Article" link for each article in your results list that is not full text. Click on that link and it will launch the Journal search tool using the article's citation information for you without your having to use the Journal search box.
Paraphrasing is different from quoting, but it's not always as easy to do. Here are some resources to help you learn how to paraphrase better.
(From Merriam Webster Online.)
Explore the links below to learn more about Plagiarism and how to avoid it.