In library terms, the name "periodicals" is given to the library's collection of magazines and journals. In Medford Library, the periodicals are organized simply by title.
Students
will find these periodicals in two areas, one for current periodicals and
one for bound periodicals (older, back issues). The Library subscribes to
over 200 periodicals. Many are indexed in our online library
databases, which you will read about later. Users can check the library's
online catalog, the Library Online Catalog, to find
out whether we have a specific magazine or journal since the titles are
included there. The periodical titles are also listed in printed Periodicals
Holdings List notebooks found in the Library.
Journals
vs. Magazines.
In
the world of college research, journals and magazines are very different
types of publications. Frequently, instructors have a preference
of which type of publication you use in your research. So how can
you tell the difference?
Magazines...
- are written for a general audience, by journalists
- generally require simple reading skills
- are helpful with current events topics
- if they contain information about your research topics, it will frequently be a summary, without details
- Examples: TIME, NEWSWEEK, SEVENTEEN, VANITY FAIR, NEW YORKER.
- are written for a specific audience of professionals in a discipline, by other professionals in that field
- require high-level reading skills and knowledge of the discipline's vocabulary and research methods
- provide articles known as "scholarly research", which will be very detailed
- sometimes contain articles which are "refereed", meaning the articles have been judged by a third party in the field to be worthy of publication
- *do not always have the word "journal" in the title*
- Examples: JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association), SCIENCE, NATURE, NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE, AMERICAN JOURNAL OF NURSING
Journals...
Continue now with the
tutorial
by clicking on the underlined link
in this sentence.
