Reference Survival 3 - Journal articles

WHEN TO USE AN ARTICLE IN A NEWSPAPER, MAGAZINE OR JOURNAL


Newspapers

You will find an article from a newspaper useful when you want to find immediate news, local news, photographs and editorials.
The information in a new newspaper article may be one day to one week old so they are an excellent source of up to date information.
Newspaper articles may help you find a summary or overview of an event and basic factual information covering who, what, where, when and how. They can also be a source of statistical information.


Magazines

You will find an article from a popular magazine useful when you want to find up to date general information on a subject.
The articles are often printed on glossy paper and have lots of illustrations so they are a good source of pictures. You may find articles about public opinion and the articles are usually written by reporters.
The articles in new popular magazines cover information which is one week to one month old so they are a good source of up to date information.
Popular magazine articles may be longer than articles in a newspaper, one to five pages, and the articles may give a more detailed analysis of events than newspapers.
Examples of popular magazines are Newsweek and Time.


Journals

You will find an article from a journal useful when you want to find very detailed information about a subject. Journals have articles about research, theories, the results of studies and experiments, and analysis. The information in a new journal article may be several months to several years old.
You may find statistics and graphs in journal articles. The articles in journals may be longer than the articles in popular magazines - five pages or more are not unusual.
Journal articles give detailed in depth information on a subject and are written by subject experts.
Before articles are printed in a journal they are often reviewed by other experts to see they meet the high standard for publication in the journal. This is called "peer review" - the authors have their articles reviewed by their peers or equals in their subject area. When a journal uses this review process before publishing articles, the journal is called a refereed journal.
Journal articles will have a reference list of all the kinds of information the authors used when they were writing their articles. These reference lists can give you ideas of where to look for more information on a subject.