| Tarleton State University Libraries |
Unit
6 |
| WRAP-UP:
Finding Articles & Citations |
This
unit presented information about the characteristics of various types
of periodicals. By learning these characteristics you should be able
to determine which type of periodical best suits your information
need, as well as determine the type of periodical in which a specific
article appears.
Differentiating between periodical types is an important aspect of
information gathering because readers often evaluate your work based
on the types of resources used.
To recap, eight primary criteria are used to differentiate types of
periodicals. These criteria are listed below along with a brief tip
for applying each criterion:
| • |
Appearance:
-- Examine the cover, use of illustrations, and page numbering. |
| • |
Intended
Audience:
-- Analyze the periodical's content to determine its readership
(academic, trade, general population, etc.) |
| • |
Author
Credentials:
-- Evaluate the author's expertise. |
| • |
Periodical's
Purpose:
-- Analyze the content to figure out its intended purpose.
For example, determine if articles in the periodical report
research
findings, offer practical information, or entertain. |
| • |
Types
of Content:
-- Examine the contents in an issue: the articles' structure,
types of topics discussed, tone used, etc. |
| • |
Amount
& Type of Advertising:
-- Scan the periodical and look at advertisements to see how
much is there and the kinds of items advertised. |
| • |
Type
of Publisher:
-- Read the information in the front of the periodical
to find out about the publisher. Look up information about
the publisher. |
| • |
Review
Process & Accountability:
-- Read the submission guidelines. Check for bibliographies. |
 TOP
| • |
periodical
indexes, |
| • |
periodical
abstracts, |
| • |
subscription
databases, and |
| • |
Internet
search tools. |
Combining this information with what you've learned in previous units
about the research process and searching should enable you to successfully
use these tools to locate articles and citations. In addition, you
now have strategies for locating a complete article using information
offered in a citation.
To supplement this unit's information about subscription databases,
the next unit gives more in-depth information about databases:
| • |
how
they work, |
| • |
how
to pick appropriate ones to use, |
| • |
how
to access and search them, and |
| • |
how
to understand their contents. |
 Learning
Activities |
Unit
7: Using Library Databases  |
Library Orientation Site Index
Updated 8/2004
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