Chapter 1 The World of Information -- Distinct types of information resources: Periodicals

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Periodicals can be magazines (popular); or journals (scholarly). Newspapers are also considered to be periodicals.

Know your source!!

Periodicals are publications issued more often than once a year, and at regular intervals (e.g., daily, weekly). Magazines, journals, and newspapers are all periodicals. Because they are published frequently and on a regular schedule, recently issued periodicals are good sources of current information.

Journals are scholarly periodicals. People in a field of study use journals to communicate ideas to each other. The language of journal articles is the language of the discipline, and can be specialized. Before articles are accepted for publication, they are reviewed by other scholars in the subject area -- this is called peer review.

Magazines are popular periodicals. Magazine writers simplify and summarize information from journals and other sources. Magazine articles are written for broad audiences. Depending on the point of view of the writer, the information the author uses may be manipulated or changed; certain biases may be added.

Newspapers are written for broad audiences. Because most are published daily, they are good sources of late-breaking or very recent news about events and discoveries. Newspaper writers often work against deadlines, and "all the facts" may not be available at the time the article was written

Things to ask yourself when you find information on your research topic:

  • Where did the information come from?
  • Is the source scholarly or popular?
  • If it is popular, are you able to identify where the information originally came from? Was the information modified or changed somehow?