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Peer-Reviewed Journals

About this Tutorial

Faculty:This tutorial was made using Microsoft PowerPoint 2007.This tutorial will help students• Understand the difference among various types of periodicals.• Locate materials online and in-house.

Students:This tutorial will:• Help you understand what periodicals/serials are• Help you understand the difference between magazines and journals• Define the characteristics of a peer-reviewed publication• Help you locate these materials in the library

This tutorial should take you about 20 minutes to complete.

This tutorial meets the following ACRL standards:

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What to watch for…

Notes – These are to let you know there is important information you need to know about what is being covered.

In the library you might often hear any of these terms, but what does it all mean? This tutorial will help you understand what each of these terms mean so you can choose the best resources for your research.

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What is a periodical?A periodical is a publication that is published on a regular basis (weekly, monthly, annually, etc.). Magazines, journals, and newspapers are all examples of periodicals.

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They are also often referred to as serials, because they come in a series and may have a continuing theme or story.

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Newspapers are most commonly known as serials, since they usually follow a story for a period of time, providing a series of articles about the same subject.

The library subscribes to most of the major national papers as well as local news. Many newspapers can also be accessed online.

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Now we come to the part that confuses most people. What is the difference between a magazine and a journal? And what do librarians mean by a popular journal?

Magazines are usually just general reading material that have articles written for everyone to read. The language used is not technical and the articles are general news and information.

Because the information written in magazines is written for the general population, they are called popular journals.

These periodicals often have lots of advertising and other commercial information.

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publications printed with the intention of targeting marketing to a specific industry or type of trade/business and written for a specific audience who has an interest in a certain topic. The articles will contain more technical vocabulary and are usually published less frequently (monthly, quarterly, etc.)

While these publications have more jargon than a popular magazine, they still have advertisements and the articles are written without the strict review process that other journals require.

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What about peer-reviewed journals?Peer-reviewed journals are journals that contain articles that have been reviewed by a group of peers who are experts in the same field as the writer.

Why use them? Peer review is a well-accepted indicator of quality scholarship. This means that articles accepted for publication through a peer-review process implicitly meet the discipline’s expected standards of expertise.

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Keep in mind that peer-reviewed journals may also be called:• Scholarly journals • Academic journals• Refereed journals

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Databases contain articles from many different periodical sources, including magazines, newspapers and peer-reviewed journals, but chances are your professors will want you to use peer-reviewed journals for your research.

Linscheid Library has approximately 90 databases full of thousands of scholarly journals as well as popular journals and newspapers. Check out the library website to find out what is available to you for your research. You can also find our print subscriptions on the 2nd (lower) floor of the library.

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Thanks for learning more about peer-reviewed journals, and other types of periodicals.

Remember to come by the library and check out our print subscriptions or log on to the library website and see what our databases have to offer. And if you have any questions, just stop by the Reference Desk.