Journals can also be called serials, periodicals or magazines. Journals are published at regular intervals under the same title.
Academic journals publish articles relating to a specific subject area and are usually peer reviewed (also called referred). This process, which means that a panel of experts have critiqued the article, ensures a high standard of scholarship.
How do I know whether an article is scholarly / peer reviewed or not?
Watch the video above for a good introduction to the differences between popular magazines and scholarly and peer reviewed journals.
A database is simply an online collection of information.
It generally contains journal articles, but most databases also hold book chapters, book reviews, reports, and conference papers. Sometimes only the abstract, or summary, of a journal article will be available in a database but often you will be able to read the full text of the article too.
We all use Google to find information in our private lives but in college you will be expected to find credible, academic quality information for your assignments. Not all good quality information is available free online. The Library pays for access to the information in subscribed databases just as we pay to buy the books you see on the shelves. Using these databases will save you time and effort and because the information has been evaluated for accuracy and credibility you can rely on its quality.
Google Scholar looks and feels like Google Search, but the results are different because it searches scholarly papers instead of general websites.
You can link Google Scholar to DkIT Library's resources to make it easier to find material we have available.
To do this in Google Scholar, click Settings, then click Library links. Type in "Dundalk Institute of Technology" and click the Search icon. DkIT should appear in the list. Put a tick beside it and click Save.
Individual journal articles are not listed in the library catalogue.
Use MultiSearch to find articles on your research topic - you can search the library catalogue, journal or newspaper articles, reports in one simple search.
To see if we have a particular journal check Publications tab in MultiSearch.
There are lots of good open access reports and articles you can use as well - search Google Scholar to find them.
Contact us to get help with searching for information for a research project or dissertation.
