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Robert Penn Warren (Moxley 12th grade): Databases and Other Online Resources

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So....how can I distinguish scholarly journals from other periodicals?

Periodicals (magazines) may be divided into four categories:

Scholarly—Magazines that are concerned with academic study, especially research.  Scholarly journals always cite their sources in the form of footnotes or bibliographies.  Articles are written by a scholar or someone who has done research in the field.  Many scholarly journals are published by a specific professional organization or university press.

Examples of Scholarly Journals:

  • JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association
  • Modern Fiction Studies
  • The Virginia Quarterly
  • Sewanee Review

Substantive-Magazines that provide information, in a general manner, to a broad audience of concerned citizens. These magazines are generally published by commercial enterprises.  Articles are written by a member of the editorial staff, a scholar or free lance writer.

Examples of Substantive Journals:

  • New York Times
  • National Geographic
  • Economist
  • Christian Science Monitor

Popular-Magazines fit for, or reflecting the taste and intelligence of, the people at large. These magazines generally include many graphics and feature short, simply written articles with little depth in content.

Examples of Popular Journals:

  • People
  • Reader’s Digest
  • Sports Illustrated
  • Ebony

Sensational-Magazines that arouse strong curiosity, interest or reaction.

Examples of Sensational Journals:

  • Globe
  • National Inquirer
  • Star

 

 

Try these databases for literary criticism and scholarly articles:

Remember that if you are off campus, you will be prompted to log in to the MBA website in order to access usernames and passwords for these links.

Scholarly Websites

Search scholarly literature across many disciplines and sources, including theses, books, abstracts and articles.  Remember on Google Scholar you are searching academic papers and not journals.  To search for academic journals, use JSTOR.

Google Scholar Search