Journal Articles - COMM235: Exposition & Argumentation - Library Resources and Research - Library Guides at Western Washington University

Type of Articles & Journals

You will often be asked to search for academic or scholarly articles and journals. What does that mean? How are they different from other articles and journals?

Academic Journals and Articles

An academic article is created by academics for academics.
The research and information is considered to be trustworthy and well-researched.
Academic journals often have the word "journal" in the title, like Journal of Business Communication.
Academic articles are long. A short academic or scholarly article is five pages long; most are 15 to 20 pages long.
Academic journals rarely feature color picutres; most will feature charts and graphs, but not pictures.
Authors often have an affiliation with a university or research institute.

General-interest Magazines

General-interest magazines include titles like Time, Newsweek, Forbes, and Rolling Stone.
Articles are often shorter and written for a general audience.
Articles feature color images and the magaiznes are slick and glossy.
Don't dismiss an article in a general-interest magazine, but be aware of who it is written for and where it is coming from.

Core Databases

Communication and Mass Media Complete [EBSCO]
An interdisciplinary database of journals relating to communication and mass media. Covers such topics as television, advertising, linguistics, and interpersonal communication.
ComAbstracts [Communication Institute for Online Scholarship]
A database of abstracts and citations to books and articles relating to communications, mass-media, and speech.
Academic Search Complete [EBSCO]
A multi-disciplinary database of full-text access to approximately 6,600 journals and magazines and nearly 6,000 full-text peer-reviewed journals.
Topics including anthropology, ethnic and multicultural studies, geography, law, religion and philosophy, and women’s studies.
HeinOnline
A database of historical and government documents, including complete coverage of 2,600 law-related periodicals.
Includes the Congressional Record, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports back to 1754, treaties, constitutions, case law, world trials, classic treatises, international trade, foreign relations, U.S. presidents, and other topics.
PAIS: Public Affairs Information Service [ProQuest]
An international database of over 500,000 journal articles, books, government documents, statistical directories, reports, conference papers, web content, and other sources.
Publications cover 120 countries around the world on topics including justice, finance, culture and religion, the environment, education, government, health, human rights, international relations, labor, law, defense, politics, demographics, social conditions, trade, and transportation.
Web of Science [Clarivate]
A multi-database search tool combining all three Web of Science indexes (the Science Citation Index, Social Sciences Citation Index, and the Arts and Humanities Citation Index).
Tip: You can use this index to find works that have cited a specific author or article.

Useful Search Engines & Web Sites

The National Political Index
Vote Smart - The Voter's Self-Defense System
ProCon.org
Statement on the Web site:
We promote critical thinking, education, and informed citizenship by presenting research on controversial issues in a straightforward, nonpartisan, and primarily pro-con format.

Our websites are free, unbiased, and updated periodically.

ProCon.org is an independent, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity.

CQ Researcher [CQ Press / Sage]
A resource for in-depth coverage of political and social issues, written by experienced journalists.
Published 44 times a year, each 12,000-word report includes a background and chronology, an assessment of the current situation, tables and maps, statements from representatives of opposing viewpoints, and bibliographies of key sources. Topics include health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the economy.
ERIC [ProQuest]
The world's largest database of education research. Includes bibliographic entries, full-text articles, and a thesaurus of education-related terminology that is used to tag entries in the database.
PsycINFO [EBSCO]
A database of abstracts for the international literature in psychology and related disciplines such as sociology, education, consumer behavior, linguistics, medicine, law, psychiatry, and anthropology. Coverage from 1840 to the present.
Tip: This database is very powerful for conducting precise searches when using search limiters.
Sociological Abstracts [ProQuest]
An international database of book review citations and journal article and dissertation abstracts in the field of sociology as well as related disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences.
Topics include social work, human services, social welfare, social policy, and community development.

COMM235: Exposition & Argumentation - Library Resources and Research

Librarian Subject Team

Type of Articles & Journals

Core Databases

Useful Search Engines & Web Sites

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