Library Research for Junior Writing
This is a page designed to help students with their Junior Writing course.
What is a "general" article?
A "general" article differs from a scholarly one in a number of ways. It could be written by a journalist, rather than a scholar, and published in a newspaper or magazine. Most journalism articles are not subjected to "peer review". (See the PowerPoint for a detailed explanation.)
Articles from trade and professional journals, general-circulation magazines, newspapers, or, today, from blogs or other web sources, are not considered scholarly sources.
This does not mean you can't use them in your essays; it merely means that you, as a researcher, have to distinguish between the scholarly and the non-scholarly article.
Finding "general" articles
Here are some library databases which offer general-circulation magazine articles. A much longer and more compregensive list can be found at the Best Bet Databases in General and Interdisciplinary library page.
- Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new windowScholarly journals from all academic disciplines - an excellent starting point for multidisciplinary research projects. 3,200 full-text journals. Coverage from 1975 to present.Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
- Nexis Uni This link opens in a new windowNews, business and legal sourcesAvailable on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
- Academic OneFileA large interdisciplinary collection of scholarly, professional and trade journal articles, 1980-present.Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
- Readers' Guide Abstracts This link opens in a new windowCitations and abstracts for articles from popular periodicals from the U.S. and Canada, 1890-present.Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
- Readers' Guide Retrospective This link opens in a new windowCitations and abstracts for articles from popular periodicals from the U.S. and Canada, 1890-1982.Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
- Last Updated: Apr 3, 2024 10:47 AM
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