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Library Research Guides

ENGWR 302 - Professor Leung (Spring 2020): Getting Started

Library Resources for Picking a Topic

Difference between Newspapers, Magazines and Journals

Newspaper Articles:

  • are written by journalists
  • contain current events
  • are brief (usually a few paragraphs and up to a page)
  • are written for the general public
  • do not contain any references or footnotes
  • articles are usually reviewed by newspaper editors (many online newspapers are not!)

PeriodicalMagazine Articles:

  • are written by journalists
  • contain current events and general interest articles
  • are brief (usually 3-5 pages)
  • are written for the general public
  • generally do not contain any references or footnotes
  • articles are reviewed by magazine employees before they are published

Journal Articles:

  • are written by subject experts in the field
  • report the results of a recent study or provide in-depth academic analysis of a topic
  • are written for experts and scholars in the field
  • tend to be long and in-depth (usually 10 - 30 pages)
  • include references or footnotes
  • articles are reviewed by peers before they are published

Search Tips

Use the search tips below to improve your results.

Quotation marks: Use to search for a particular phrase.

EXAMPLE: "climate change" 

Parentheses: Use with the word OR to combine ideas and expand your search. 

EXAMPLE:  "climate change" (sea level or natural disaster*) = sea level climate change + natural disaster(s) climate change

Asterisk: Use to search for multiple suffixes and/or roots.  

EXAMPLES:  law* = law and laws   |   wom*n = women and woman

Ctrl + F:  Use to access a search box that will find a word/phrase on a page.

EXAMPLE:  

 

How to Read a Scholarly Journal Article

Scholarly journal articles can be very challenging, especially if you're new to them. These sources give some ideas on how to tackle a scholarly journal article.