Articles in journals and magazines are not listed in the library catalogue - you will have to use a different resource such as an article database (or article index). An article database allows you to search hundreds of journals at the same time. The Library subscribes to various article databases; some article databases are subject specific (such as PsycINFO), others cover many subject areas (such as Academic Search Complete).
Article databases provide citation information to journal or magazine articles, such as title of the article; author(s) of the article; title of the journal/magazine; volume, issue, page numbers, and year of the journal/magazine. Some article databases provide abstracts (summaries of the article) which can help you decide if the article may be useful. Many databases include the fulltext of the article.
is a tool that will speed up your research process by helping you locate online and print materials at UPEI. Check@UPEI link appears in the article databases when the article is not available electronically within the particular database you are searching. Check@UPEI allows you to connect from an article database directly to the Library's resources, such as online fulltext articles, or to title listings for non-electronic (or print) journals, books, or other library materials in the library catalogue. If the material is not available through the Library's holdings, you can request the item via Interlibrary Loan.
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To find the most appropriate article databases for your topic, go to the Subject List of databases on the Article Databases webpage. You can also check the Subject Research Guides for a list of relevant databases.
But your professor said to use only peer-reviewed articles. What's the difference between peer-reviewed journal articles and magazine articles?
- Journal is a type of periodical intended for a scholarly audience and articles are written by and for scholars and researchers in the field.
- Magazine is a type of periodical intended for a general reading audience and containing articles of popular interest.
For further information on scholarly journals vs. magazines, check out the online tutorial
and the guide Peer-Reviewed, Popular Magazine or Journal? (James A. Gibson Library, Brock University).
Find peer-reviewed articles...
Many of the Article Databases have a special checkbox to limit your search to just peer-reviewed journals. By the way, peer-reviewed journals are sometimes called "scholarly journals", "academic journals", "research journals", or "refereed journals".
Note: that you still need to pay attention to what kind of article it is - letters to the editor, for instance, usually don't "count" as peer-reviewed articles.