Using the Periodical (journal and magazine) Databases
See the guide for selecting databases:
http://www.lib.grin.edu/research/InstructionGuides/perdatabase.html
MLA Bibliography (this is the most specialized
of the three databases listed here)
Humanities Abstracts (covers all topics within
the humanities—indexing about 400+ journals)
Academic Search Premier (this is the broadest database
of the three—it covers all topics to a greater or lesser
extent indexing over 3,000 journals)
We have over 100 periodical databases to choose from.
When using these databases, you may want to construct a
Boolean search.
Or the library guide:
http://www.lib.grin.edu/research/InstructionGuides/booleanmodule.html
MLA Bibliography. This database indexes international
scholarship on modern literature (novels, short stories,
poetry, theater, and film), linguistics, and folklore. The
scholarship can be published in journals, books, or dissertations.
Material that you identify may or may not be available online.
Although this database is intended for modern literature
(thus excluding the ancient literature), because the themes,
characters, and stories originating with or found in classical
literature are the basis for so much modern literature,
the MLA Bibliography is still a good source for topics relevant
to your tutorial.
Humanities Abstracts is a collection of between
400 and 500 academic journals. All of the journals are considered
to be academic or scholarly. This database is aimed at the
undergraduate researcher. Our library subscribes to many
of the journals indexed in this collection. As in the MLA,
the articles you find indexed in this database may be available
online, but might also only be available to you in paper
from our library shelves or through interlibrary
loan.
Academic Search Premier includes many weekly news
and mass audience magazines as well as scholarly journals.
In all, it indexes over 3,000 journals in most subject areas.
You can limit your search to “academic journals†to make
sure that you are finding articles in scholarly journals.
Again, it includes access to online journals—but some journals
will only be available in paper.
Articles: Online or in Paper
When searching online databases to find journal articles
or chapters in books (depending on the database you use)
remember that you may be able to connect directly to the
article but it may be that that article is available only
in paper, or you may have to go through interlibrary loan.
Take advantage of help screens and browse subject term indexes.
Remember to carefully consider the quality of the article
you are selecting and its appropriateness for your topic.
You have a handout that gives a synopsis of what to look
for when evaluating your sources. A guide is also available
on the web: http://www.lib.grin.edu/research/InstructionGuides/evaluation1.html.
Another guide explains the concept of scholarly versus
popular journals: http://www.lib.grin.edu/research/InstructionGuides/scholarlypopular.html
There are many ins and outs to conducting research. We
can only dent the surface in a session like this. Please
take advantage of the Grinnell College reference librarians
and the assistance that they can offer you. We can be contacted
via email or phone, we have regular hours at the reference
desk, we can make appointments with you to meet at time
that fits into your schedule, you can drop by and meet with
us in our offices—there are many ways to make use of our
services.
Rebecca Stuhr, Grinnell College Libraries. October 2005
Stuhrr/3674
