Aurora University
Phillips Library

Comparison of Periodical Types and Usage

Periodical materials can be broken down into five categories: newspapers, popular magazines, journals of opinion, scholarly journals, and trade/professional journals. Knowing the type of articles you are looking for will help you to determine which online databases to use. The databases under each category are just some of the resources available on our library web site; they are not the only ones that you might select. Databases don’t always put information up on a web site immediately; there may be a lag of one to several months before “current” information appears. Some articles are provided full-text, some are provided as abstracts or citations for which you must locate the hard copy journal article, or microform version, to read or copy. Or you may use the Full-Text Electronic Journals link from our homepage to see if the complete article is available online.

Newspapers . . .
. . . present current information, news, and commentary. They are issued regularly, usually daily or weekly. Examples are: Beacon News, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal. Newspapers may have a geographical focus and they will contain local information if the paper is a local one. Articles are written by reporters and staff writers and may be reviewed by an editor. Stories may contain a bias. Newspapers usually are indexed online immediately, meaning that you may often see today’s news online. (Newsletters are a subset of newspapers).

Use: Newspaper Source, Chicago Tribune, E-Journals & Newspapers link under General Sources/Search Tools on our homepage.

Popular Magazines . . .
. . . usually contain generalized articles of popular interest on such topics as travel, relationships, current events, cooking, sports, etc. (examples: Reader’s Digest, Time, People). Their purpose is to entertain and inform a broad audience; articles are usually short. Popular magazines are supported by advertising.

Use: Academic Search Elite, Business Source Elite, PerAbs, FindArticles.

Journals of Opinion . . .
. . . present a viewpoint, often political or societal, in the form of commentary (examples: The Nation, New Republic). Their purpose is to persuade – be aware of bias. Articles are written by staff writers and guest authors; they may be reviewed by an editor. They are aimed at an educated audience.

Use: ECO, Academic Search Premier.

Scholarly Journals . . .
. . . report original research and investigation. Subject-specific topics are treated to in-depth analysis. The scope of scholarly journals may be narrow and may cover only a subset of a topic area (examples: Biblical Archaeology Review, Journal of Transcultural Nursing, Sport & Exercise Psychology, Educational Research). Articles are peer-reviewed or scholarly; they should contain extensive references. The authors often present their original research in an educational venue. Dissertations and theses are also available online.

Use: Expanded Academic ASAP, CINAHL, PsycARTICLES, ERIC, Digital Dissertations.

Trade/Professional Journals . . .
. . . are written for practitioners in a specific field and contain information about current trends and practices, new product information, etc. (examples: Trade and Development Reports, MacUser, JAMA). Articles are usually written by members of the profession or trade.

Use: ABI Inform, Criminal Justice Periodicals, Proquest Nursing Journal.