LESSON 6 CONTENTS:

Learning Objectives

Part One: Periodical Literature

I. The Importance of Periodical Literature in Research

II. Types of Periodicals

III. Electronic Journals

IV. Types of Periodical Articles

Part Two: Periodical Indexes

V. General and Subject Periodical Indexes

VI. Print and Computerized Periodical Indexes

VII. Choosing the Right Index

VIII. General Guidelines for Using Periodical Indexes

IX. Interpreting Periodical Citations

X. Key Points to Remember

Lesson Six Quiz

Lesson Six Exercise

V. GENERAL AND SUBJECT PERIODICAL INDEXES

More than 165,000 periodicals are published worldwide. Given this vast number of magazines, journals, and newspapers, how do you find articles on your topic?

The key to finding periodical articles is the periodical index. A periodical index provides lists of articles published in selected sets of magazines, journals, or newspapers during a specified time period. Therefore, just as you can use an online catalog to look up books on a topic, you can use a periodical index to find articles on a topic. But remember that these are two different tools, each with its own purpose. Online catalogs are usually limited to books and do not list individual articles in periodicals. You must use a periodical index to find citations to specific articles.

Periodical indexes are produced and sold by commercial publishers and used nationwide. In other words, a periodical index is not based on a particular library’s collection of magazines and journals. Finding a citation in an index does not necessarily mean that your library can provide the actual issue of the periodical. You must find out if your library subscribes to that periodical. (This is less crucial if you are using a full-text or partial full-text computerized periodical index, as discussed in the next section.)

No single periodical index covers all the periodicals being published. Instead, a periodical index lists articles from a specific set of periodicals, on specific subjects, for a specified time period. You may remember from Lesson 4 that this is what’s called the scope of an index. Before using an index, it’s always a good idea to learn its scope. What subject(s) does it cover? What periodicals are indexed? For what time period? This information can usually be found in prefatory material that accompanies the index.

Thousands of periodical indexes are published worldwide. They can be divided into 2 categories:

• General Periodical Indexes: provides citations to articles published in scholarly, professional and opinion journals, news magazines, and popular magazines. Covers a broad range of general interest topics – science, social science, humanities, technology, etc. The InfoTrac OneFile is an example of a general periodical index.
  
  
• Subject Periodical Indexes: provides citations to articles published in scholarly and professional publications. Covers one specific subject (e.g. art, education, or biology) or one specific discipline (e.g. science, social science, etc.). Art Index and Education Index are examples of subject periodical indexes.

(NOTE: Newspaper indexes are a special type of periodical index that will be fully discussed in Lesson 8. )