How to do Academic Research

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What is a Periodical? A periodical is any source that is published at regular intervals, such as daily, weekly, monthly, etc. They can be journals, magazines, newspapers, etc. Periodicals can be popular or scholarly in nature.

• What is a Scholarly Periodical? It is an academic journal; a published work of a particular discipline or subject written by a scholar or person of expertise. Used for teaching, continual learning, and professional development. Generally called a journal.  

• What is a Popular Periodical? Sports, Hobbies, Lifestyle, etc. Appealing to or intended for the general public; liked by many people. Generally called a magazine.
   

Periodicals can also be located on databases and the web: these criteria may be applied to the online version of print periodicals, web-based electronic periodicals as well as the traditional print magazines and journals.

Journals:

• Journals have a very serious appearance, with many graphs and charts, but few glossy pages or exciting pictures.
• Scholarly journals always cite their sources in the form of footnotes or bibliographies (references, sources).
• The articles are written by a scholar in the field or by someone who has done research in the field. The credentials of these individuals are always given.
• The articles are usually long, anywhere from 3-10 pages.
• The language or terminology of scholarly journals is that of the discipline covered. It assumes some scholarly background on the part of the reader.
• The main purpose of a scholarly journal is to report on original research or experimentation in order to make such information available to the rest of the scholarly world.
• Many of the scholarly are published by a specific professional organizations.

Magazines:

• Magazines are often referred to as "popular.” They come in many formats, often quite attractive in appearance, with many photographs, drawings, etc. They also contain advertisements.
• Magazines rarely cite sources and the original source is sometimes obscure.
• Articles are usually very short, written in a simple language, and are designed to meet an average educational level.
• Popular magazines appeal to a wide range of people.
• The main purpose of popular magazines is to entertain the reader, to sell products, and to promote a viewpoint.

Why Not Just Google?

While using internet searches, such as Google, seem easier, it actually can make finding quality resources a lot harder.

Search engines are designed to produce as many results as possible, but often those results are irrelevant or from unreliable, irrelevant, or inaccessible sources. This means that you--the researcher-- will have to determine if each individual source is helpful and authoritative and then determine if and how you can access it. Search engines like Google are best when used primarily for defining terms and gaining basic knowledge of your topic before beginning to research. 

Library Databases do a lot of the source evaluation for you. The only resources they contain have already been identified as reliable and authoritative, and the library pays for access, so you will always be able to get to what you need. You may not get as many results, but the quality of information you find will make your whole research project much easier.

Primary and Secondary Sources

Primary sources are first-hand descriptions of events. They are produced by people who were at the event or lived at that time.

Some primary sources are:

• legal documents,
• science experiments,
• photographs,
• novels and short stories,
• recordings,
• speeches,
• diary entries,
• interviews, e-mails or letters,
• and works of art.
• Even historical newspaper articles are sometimes considered primary sources.

Secondary sources are descriptions, commentaries, interpretations, and evaluations of primary sources. Basically, if something is talking about a primary source, it is a secondary source. 

For more information:

Santiago Canyon College Library: Primary and Secondary Sources Video