Journals are similar to magazines in that they are published regularly (e.g. monthly).
Articles in journals are more in-depth and well-researched than magazine articles. They are written by experts in a particular field of study, and are based on the author's research.
Most of the library's journal articles are accessed electronically through the library databases.
Journal databases are huge, searchable, up-to-date indexes of journal references.
Databases help you to find high quality, up-to-date journal articles that have been published by respected publishers and publications.
If you have been asked to find scholarly articles for your assignment, you will need to search a database.
A peer reviewed journal contains articles that, before being accepted for publishing, are reviewed and approved by a panel of experts in the same subject area as the articles' authors. Similar terms used for these types of journals are: refereed, scholarly and academic.
The library catalogue and many journal databases allow you to limit your search to only include these types of journals. And Ulrichsweb is a directory to check whether journals are refereed.
It is important that you spend some time creating a search strategy before attempting to search a library database.
This will help you formulate a string of search terms that can be combined effectively to enhance your search. So check out the following resources.
