What periodical articles do for you
Articles from newspapers, magazines, and scholarly journals are essential components of any research project for two simple reasons -- currency and detail. Newspapers and magazines are good sources for recent news and developments. These articles often include important details as well -- though the details they include usually fall within a narrow scope (books are broader in this sense).
Articles from journals (often called "scholarly journals" or "peer-reviewed journals") are somewhat different. Journal articles are usually longer essays written as reports on the author's research. This research could be a new interpretation of a poem, a new analysis of historical documents, or an experiment using a new chemical compound. The purpose of journal articles is to report on people's searches after new knowledge. That's what makes them so exciting and valuable.
How to choose articles
While keeping in mind the usual criteria of relevance and currency (nobody wants irrelevant, old news), look for articles that will help you fill gaps in your research. Just what will fill the gaps in your research project depends, obviously, on the nature of your project and the kinds of information you already have.
However, here are some examples of ways you might use information from periodical articles in your own research project.
Some Ways to Use Information
| If you want to ... | Look for articles that ... |
| Catch and focus attention ... | Describe distinctive cases or make claims that will interest your reader. |
| Qualify what is in focus ... | Show another side of your topic, or that show a side in a different way. |
| Present cases for and against ... | Describe cases that support (or don't support) your claims. Articles that summarize cases statistically--as many research reports do--are also valuable. |
| Articulate inferences for and against ... | Present an argument clearly. |
| Present alternatives ... | Give clear and convincing statements of positions that others might have overlooked. |
Where to find articles
If you prefer working online, you're in luck. It's not because most articles are available on various websites, for free, but because the HCCS libraries subscribe to over 80 online databases to provide access to millions of articles previously published in newspapers, magazines, and journals.
You can access these articles in databases through the Databases page of the library website.
Moreover, because many periodical articles are now available online, you can do this kind of research any time, day or night, seven days a week, that is convenient for you. All you need is Internet access and an active library account. Then, with the barcode associated with your account, you can login remotely to our subscription databases.
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