Why use articles?

  • Obtain more precise information
  • Find up-to-date information
  • Discover new research on your topic

Scholarly Journals vs Popular Magazines

It is important to be able to make the distinction between articles from scholarly (peer-reviewed), trade journals, and popular magazines. Verify what type you will need for your assignment.

For help, see our comparison chart or watch the following video, “Scholarly vs. Popular Periodicals” courtesy of Peabody Library, Vanderbilt University.

Tip: You will often come across the word periodical instead of journal. A periodical is simply a publication that is produced on a “periodical” basis and may be published weekly, monthly, or on an annual basis. Newspapers, journals and magazines are all types of periodicals.

How to find articles using the library databases

It may be difficult to distinguish between a scholarly and a popular article when you see them in electronic form. Our databases allow you to limit your search to academic or peer-reviewed articles.

Remember to identify your keywords before you start. For information on the use of subject terms, read the Using Subject Headings page.

Here are the main article databases available at the library:

Where to find articles on the web

  • DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals: Free full text, quality controlled scientific and scholarly journals. Managed by the Lund University Libraries.
  • Érudit: Francophone and Canadian peer-reviewed journals. Free access to articles published more than two years ago.
  • Persée:  Access scholarly journals from France in the areas of social and human sciences (in French). The majority of the articles are in full text.