Periodical Collection

Current issues of the Library's journals, magazines and newspapers are located just pass the public access computers and are arranged alphbetically by title. Back issues are located behind the current issue under the slanted shelf and/or at the end of the general book collection. Periodicals, except the most current issue, may be checked out for one week. Magazine or Journal: how to tell them apart: An Instructor's assignment of a research paper may require the use of 'scholarly journals' rather than magazines as research resources. So what is the difference? Both are periodical or serial publications, meaning that they usually appear at regular intervals with no determined end date. They are often purchased by subscription, but can be included in membership dues or as a benefit from a business relationship. Both can be directed to very specific audiences or topics of interest. Magazines, however, are intended for the general reader. They are often illustrated and laid out in a visually pleasant and informal manner. A magazine's content is selected or directed by its editors. Authors of magazine articles may be employed by the magazine or may be free-lance writers. They may or may not have formal training in the subjects about which they write. Examples of magazines in the SEARK College collection include: Time, Psychology Today, Consumer Reports, and National Geographic. Journals or scholarly journals or peer-reviewed journals are intended for trained members of a specific profession or discipline. They are often reports of experiments or research by scholars actively working in the field. Many journal articles, particularly scientific ones, follow a strict format: abstract; statement of problem; description of experiment or research; results; conclusion; and bibliography of works consulted. Articles are submitted to journal editors, who in turn send them for review to the author's peers. Peers being others active in the same discipline or profession, who are able to judge the quality of both the research and its presentation. Journals are often published by professional associations or educational institutions. Editorial oversight may be by committee. Journals in the SEARK College collection include: Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, Trends and Issues in Post Secondary English Studies, and American Scientist. Questions about the nature of a particular publication should be addressed to Library staff or your instructor. Many of the electronic periodical databases allow searches to be limited to "scholarly" or "peer reviewed" sources only.