CCSF Library: English (Academic Reading & Writing): Articles

Article Sources

Description

Magazines, journals, and newspapers, are types of "periodicals" - as in, they are published periodically throughout the year. There are many different intended audiences.
- Magazines are generally intended for a broader, public audience.
  - Examples: Scientific American, Vogue, and The Atlantic Monthly.
- Journals are often intended for a scholarly audience (scholars, academics, researchers, etc.) Many articles in these journals go through a rigorous publishing process called peer-review: they are written by an academic, submitted to the journal, and then circulated to experts in the field for checking before being published.
  - Examples: New England Journal of Medicine, The William and Mary Quarterly.
- Newspapers are usually written for a broader, public audience. They share the news of the day.
  - Examples: The New York Times, USA Today, The Guardian, the San Francisco Chronicle.

What do they contain?

Articles

How often are these sources published?

Magazines - usually monthly & quarterly (seasonally)
Journals - less frequently; can be monthly, but more likely quarterly
Newspapers - usually daily

Found in:

OneSearch - Periodicals
Easily locate CCSF subscribed periodicals (newspapers, journals, and magazines) in this particular view of OneSearch.
Journal Browse (BrowZine)
A clickable view of scholarly journals subscribed to by the CCSF Library.

America's News
Features national, regional and local news content that delivers diverse perspectives on practically any issue, event or person as covered by the U.S. news media. With current content and archives back to the 1980s from more than 3,700 sources. Includes the San Francisco Chronicle and San Francisco Examiner. Hot Topics can be browsed as well.
US Major Dailies

Provides access to The New York Times (1980-present), Washington Post (1988-present), Los Angeles Times (1985-present), Chicago Tribune (1985-present), and the Wall Street Journal (1984-present). Available by 8 AM U.S. Eastern time each day. Supplemental website content from these publications may not be included (such as when a news organization publishes on their website only, but not within an issue.)

Cross Search

Try the library's OneSearch to cross search all the excellent content you have access to as a CCSF student! CCSF Library resources are often NOT available for free in a Google Search. Use OneSearch to search for books, eBooks, articles (from magazines, newspapers, and journals), streaming videos, DVDs, CDs, images, and more, all in a single search. OneSearch cross searches most CCSF Library Databases at the same time. OneSearch can be accessed from the Library website!

Here is an example using OneSearch combining our search words:

(Want to see? The demo search is available.)

Search Strategies

Digital searching can work well when you combine your search words with "Boolean" connectors.

Boolean Connector	What does it do?
AND	narrows the results of a search. Without this connector, the AND may automatically be assumed by the search. This searches only for items containing all terms connected by AND. Example: health AND disparities AND urban
OR	expands or broadens the results of a search. This searches for either term. This is helpful when searching using synonyms. ("OR is more" and will likely return MORE items.) Example search string: genetically modified OR transgenic OR GMO
NOT	excludes specific terms that may be clouding your result set with irrelevant results not related to your topic. This is helpful when trying to remove some results. Example: nutrition NOT diet

Other strategies:

Identify key concepts.
Include the useful or relevant keywords in your search, as well as synonyms, rather than a full question.
Use "Filters" to limit your source type, time period, and location.
Need "scholarly" articles? Use the "Peer-Reviewed Journals" filter.

Assistance

Assistance via email is available Monday through Friday during the Fall and Spring semesters. We try to respond within two days.

Chat with the library 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to meet with a librarian for in-depth help with your research.

English (Academic Reading & Writing)

Peer-Reviewed Articles

What about articles behind a paywall?

Searching Databases Individually