Afro-Ethnic Studies
A Pollak Library Research Guide by Jie Tian, Reference Librarian

Pollak Library | Afro-Ethnic Studies@CSUF || Research Tips

Scholarly & General Interest Periodicals

The Basics about Periodicals, Indexes, Citations & Abstracts

What is a Periodical?

In the simplest form, a periodical is a publication that is published periodically, e.g. daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly, etc. These publications include newspapers, general interest magazines, scholarly and professional journals. In your research projects, your professor may assign you to find articles from a mix of popular and scholarly sources or publications. The Pollak Library currently subscribes to over 2,500 journals to support your research needs.

What is an index/abstract?

An index is a list of subjects or names of persons with references to the exact publication where they occur. Elements of an index include author, title, and subject. Indexes provide access to articles, books, and other documents by author, title, or subject. Currently indexes exist in both print and electronic formats. Electronic indexes are searchable and include more entry fields for access and searching. You can find indexes in all academic disciplines in the Electronic Resources area and Reference area in the Pollak Library. The Electronic Information Resources web page provides a gateway to access electronic indexes/abstracts.

An abstract is a summary of an article or a book. It covers major points, summarizes major arguments, informs the subject of research and research methodology, and poses questions for further research.

What is a citation?

A citation provides publication information of an article or book. It answers questions like: what is the title of the article (or book), who is/who are the author(s)? where is the article or book published? The elements of a citation includes author, title of the publication, place of publication, date of publication, volume number and issue number for journal articles, and page(s).

A Sample Index/Abstract/Citation

A Sample Citation from Sociological Abstracts

AUTHOR(S): Rasheed, Janice Matthews
AFFILIATION: School Social Work Loyola U, Chicago IL 60611
TITLE: The Adult Life Cycle of Poor African American Fathers
PUB YEAR: 1998
JOURNAL: Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 1998, 1,
2-3, 265-280.
STANDARD NO: CODEN: JHBEF2 ISSN: 1091-1359
COUNTRY: United States
LANGUAGE: English.
PUB TYPE: Abstract of journal article (aja)
ANNOUNCEMENT: Social Planning, Policy & Development Abstracts (SOPODA),
021, 01, 1999
ABSTRACT: Presents qualitative findings of a 4-year study of 150 poor, urban adult African American men who are noncustodial fathers. Data collection methods included focus groups, case study research, documentary review, & participant observation. Using social constructionist & ecological frameworks, issues of individual personality & family development are explored, & implications for micro & macro social work practice are discussed. 36 References. Adapted from the source

Scholarly Journals vs. General Interest Magazines

What is a scholarly Journal?
Scholarly journals publish articles that communicate recent research results in a field of study. Authors conduct thorough literature review and research prior to writing articles. Articles are submitted to an editorial board and are critically evaluated via the peer review process before they are accepted for publication. Scholarly articles document their research and invariably include a list of references at the end of the article. Professional organizations, academic presses, and commercial publishers are the most prolific publishers of scholarly journals.

What is a general interest magazine?
General interest magazines contain articles on a wide range of topics. Instead of focusing on an academic and scholarly community as scholarly journals do, general interest magazines intend to attract general readers and cover articles of varied interests. General interest magazines always contain advertising, ads, colorful pictures, and etc. Articles in these magazines are written for the general public and are easy to read. General interest magazines can be popular magazines like Reader's Digest and Sports Illustrated, news magazines like Time and U.S. News and World Report, opinion magazines like The Nation and The New Republic, or trade magazines like Advertising Age and Web Review.

Read Them Live: Newspapers, Magazines, and Journals

Please note that newspapers and general interest magazines on the Web may be current day or month only and may not include back issues archive. Their content may vary from the print version as well. Pollak Library's subscription databases, Dow Jones Interactive and Lexis/Nexis, provide good coverage of current and back issues of newspapers and some general interest magazines.

Newspapers More Newspapers on the Web	Los Angeles Times San Francisco Chronicle	Washington Post
General Interest Magazines More Magazines @ More Magazines @ AJR NewsLink	Time The Nation	Life Business Week
Scholarly Journals More Journals @ More Journals @ Jstor & Project Muse	American Sociological Review American Quarterly	Modern Fiction Studies

10/18/05
Created by Jie Tian
Pollak Library

Prepared by Jie Tian: jtian@fullerton.edu
An instructional page of the Paulina June & George Pollak Library at California State University, Fullerton.
(c) 1999 California State University, Fullerton. All rights reserved.
Last Updated:10/18/2005