Finding Journal Articles

What are Journals/Periodicals

Periodicals are publications which are issued at regular intervals (i.e. weekly, monthly, etc.). The main types of periodicals are journals, magazines, and newspapers. Journals tend to be more academic and scholarly (i.e. New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of African History, etc.) while magazines and newspapers tend to be of a more popular nature (i.e. Newsweek, New York Times, etc.). Periodicals can be found in print, microform, and electronic formats.

Finding Citations to Articles

Citations to specific articles can be found by using print and electronic indexes and databases. Entries in an index or database generally include the article title, journal title, date/volume/issue of the journal, and the number of the page on which the article begins.

Most print indexes can be found in the Reference sections of the Libraries. Electronic indexes and databases can be found via the Research Resources by Subject or the General Databases section of the Libraries' web site. It may also be possible to find citations in the footnotes or bibliographies of other articles or books.

There are also collections of full-text, electronic journals which have their own search engines. These include the OhioLINK Electronic Journal Center (EJC) and JSTOR. The OhioLINK EJC is a collection of current journals while JSTOR is an historical archive of journals (it doesn't include the previous 5-6 years of issues). For remote access to the EJC refer to the Libraries' Accessing OhioLINK Resources Off-Campus page.

Getting a Copy of an Article

Finding a copy of an article involves locating the periodical in print or electronic format or via interlibrary loan. To find out if Wooster has a print copy of a periodical perform a Journal Title search in CONSORT (the Libraries' online catalog). If a periodical is available at Wooster the record will indicate its location, call number, and the first issue the Libraries own (see example record below).

Full-text of articles might also be available via the electronic indexes and databases used for finding citations. Once a citation has been retrieved, look for a "Full Text," "Find a Copy," "OLINKS" or some similar type of link which will allow access to the article. Additionally, JAKE can be used to find out what electronic databases index and include the full-text of journals.

If a periodical containing an article is not available in the Wooster Libraries or electronically, it will be necessary to use the Interlibrary Loan (ILL) department's ILLiad form to request a copy. Most requests will arrive within 5 to 14 days. The articles will be sent via campus mail.