Research & Course Guides: MCOM 350: Seminar is Mass Communication (Tsai): Scholarly Articles

Periodicals Defined

Periodicals are publications issued at regular intervals (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly) such as newspapers, magazines, and journals.
Many periodicals are originally published in print form (available at newsstands and through subscription). The library subscribes to databases that offer an electronic version of the text of selected articles from many periodicals.
Use periodicals for current information, for latest trends and research, for hard to find information, and for briefer coverage than books.
See the tab above "Types of Periodicals" - to determine if a periodical is scholarly or "peer-reviewed," as opposed to being a popular magazine or a trade publication.
To see a list of communication and mass media-related periodicals available online, use the "Journals" tab near the top of the library home page. Click on the yellow and red magnifying glass, then select the "Subjects" tab from the next screen. Select "Communication and Journalism." from the drop-down box under "Select Subject to View." Pick the appropriate sub-category and browse the journal titles.

Look for a check box on the search screen or the results screen to limit a search to Peer-Reviewed, Academic, or Scholarly articles.

Academic OneFile This link opens in a new window
Provides over 54,000,000 articles, most full-text, from about 13,000 scholarly journals across most academic subject areas. Coverage is from 1980 to the present.
Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
Full text for about 8,500 periodicals including over 7,300 peer-reviewed journals across most areas of academic study as well as indexing and abstracts for more than 12,500 magazines and journals. Coverage is from 1887 to the present.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Full-text of over 1400 core scholarly journals and Books across most subject areas.
Can be used for course content: Titles from many university presses and other academic publishers
Project Muse
Full text of over 100 scholarly journals and books from university presses in fields including literature and criticism, history, the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, political science, gender studies, and economics.
Can be used for course content: Includes books from many university presses and scholarly journals

If you have the citation for a periodical article

use the Journals tab on the top of the library home page
type in the title of the journal or magazine
look for that title in the list and follow the link to the database(s)
follow the links to the correct issue of the periodical OR
locate a "search" box to type in the title of the article
If the library subscribes to the periodical in print or microform, this will be indicated as well. Follow the link(s) to see what years the library subscribes to.

All of the following databases can be found under the "Databases" tab on the library home page. For best results use the Advanced Search features of any database.

Selected Indexes to Articles in Popular Periodicals and Trade Journals

Ethnic NewsWatch This link opens in a new window
Features full-text newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic and minority press with titles dating from 1990. Contains about 2 million articles from more than 300 publications with both national and regional coverage.
GenderWatch This link opens in a new window
Offers authoritative historical and current perspectives on the evolution of gender roles as they affect both men and women. Coverage is from 1970 to the present.
Gale General OneFile This link opens in a new window
Provides indexing (with 60% full-text) to about 11,500 general interest magazines and newspapers. About 100,000,000 articles are available. Coverage is from 1980 to the present.
Nexis Uni (LexisNexis) This link opens in a new window
Offers more than 15,000 news, business and legal sources from LexisNexis, including U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1790 across all content types.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context
Contains about 2000 viewpoint articles, 1000 topic overviews, 700 court case overviews, and 30 full text periodicals and newspapers. The Research Guide provides tips on analyzing issues with opposing viewpoints, distinguishing fact from opinion, evaluating information sources, and recognizing deceptive arguments.

Look for a check box on the search screen or the results screen to limit a search to Peer-Reviewed, Academic, or Scholarly articles.

Ethnic NewsWatch This link opens in a new window
Features full-text newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic and minority press with titles dating from 1990. Contains about 2 million articles from more than 300 publications with both national and regional coverage.
GenderWatch This link opens in a new window
Offers authoritative historical and current perspectives on the evolution of gender roles as they affect both men and women. Coverage is from 1970 to the present.
ScienceDirect This link opens in a new window
Provides full-text access to journals in the fields of science, psychology, medicine, and technology.
Films on Demand This link opens in a new window
Contains about 8000 full-length programs and 90,000 streaming video segments in the humanities, social sciences, business, economics, medicine, mathematics, and sciences from producers including Cambridge Educational, BBC, CNBC, National Geographic, TEDTalks, and PBS. For additional videos, see VAST (Academic Videos Online).
Can be used for course content: Streaming video collections.
Google Scholar
Includes most peer-reviewed online journals from the largest scholarly publishers as well as scholarly books and non-peer reviewed journals. Links to full-text due to Milne Library subscriptions. A useful feature is the ability to see who cited an article.