Types of Periodicals Indexed
There are different types of periodicals aimed at different audiences:
- common types include journals, magazines and newspapers
- issued on a regular basis (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.)
- issued more than once a year
- also referred to as: scholarly, refereed, academic and peer-reviewed (Check the journal or Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory)
- reports on original experiments or research
- written by authors whose work is reviewed or refereed before publication
- aimed at a specialized, academic audience and uses specialized language
- articles tend to be lengthy with bibliographies
- contains little, if any advertising
Examples: American Sociological Review; Brain and Cognition, British Journal of Aesthetics
What is a MAGAZINE? (news/popular/general interest)
- popular publication geared to a general, non-academic audience
- usually covers a wide range of topics
- paper is usually glossy with pictures and advertising
- usually do not contain bibliographies and are not refereed
Examples: India Today; Sports Illustrated; Paris Match
- the Health Sciences Library uses "serials" as a location for its journals and magazines
- includes annuals and yearbooks as well as books which are part of a larger series
- parts issued chronologically
Examples: Annual Review of Anthropology; Canadian Politics
What is a TRADE/PROFESSIONAL publication?
- aimed at a specific audience, often in business and industry
- deals with current news, issues and trends
- uses specialized language
- usually issued on a weekly or monthly basis
- illustrated, often with glossy pages
- articles written by editorial staff, staff writers, freelancers and scholars
- aimed at educated readers with no special knowledge assumed
- provides information
- sometimes cite sources
Examples: Chronicle of Higher Education; Psychology Today; Time
- printed on newsprint and issued daily or weekly
- contains news, editorials, commentary, advertising, general interest
items
Examples: Hamilton Spectator; New York Times; Globe & Mail
- some titles fall into a grey area
- some so-called general interest magazines may include articles written by scholars with footnotes, and but may also include advertisements and pictures
Examples: Science; Nature
- points the way to where information is located see citation
- allows searches by keyword, subject/topic and author
- usually covers topics in one broad subject area e.g. health, sociology, chemistry or is a general index covering a wide range of subjects e.g. Web of Science, Social Sciences Index
- an abstract is an index with the addition of a summary of the article
- allows you to search multiple publications at one time
- allows you to narrow the focus of your topic
- finds current and detailed information
| Academic | Grey Areas | Journal | News magazine |
| Newspaper | Periodical | Peer-reviewed | Refereed |
| Scholarly | Serial | Trade/Professional |