Research 101

Academic Journals

Characteristics of academic journals:

• Peer-reviewed: teams of colleagues review the material before publication
• Research based: articles are the result of research rather than opinion
• Use specialized language, the jargon of the field of study
• Include and abstract, references and discussion of the methodology used
• Little to no advertising

Trade Publications

Characteristics of trade publications:

• Specific to a particular field
• Ads directed at those in the field
• Use specialized language, the jargon of the profession
• Published more frequently than academic journals
• Articles are often unsigned

Searching databases and the internet is always easier when you use the right operators.  Databases rarely use the natural language that we have become accustomed to using in internet searching.  Databases use "controlled vocabulary" to facilitate searching, meaning they use a particular term for a particular subject. You will want to develop a list of the terms used in your field.

You always want to familiarize yourself with Boolean Operators: AND, OR, NOT.  These terms give you great control over your searches.

You can control your Google searches similarly.  Put a . + in front of a word to require it in your search.  Put your "Search term" in quotes to retrieve phrases.