In doing research and throughout this DIY we use some terms you might not be familiar with. This page will help you understand how these different terms are related. When doing research we talk about finding articles which are published in journals that you find by searching a database.
Let's start with a citation for an article cited in MLA style:
Thoss, Jeff. "Versifying Batman: Superheroes in contemporary poetry" Frontiers of Narrative Studies, vol. 5, no. 2, 2019, pp. 268-286. https://doi.org/10.1515/fns-2019-0016
Some components that you can see in the citation above are:
Author's name: Thoss, Jeff (last name first)
article title = "Versifying Batman..."
journal title = Frontiers in Narrative Studies
volume number = 5
issue number = 2
publication year = 2019
pp. = page numbers where the article appeared
doi = Digital Object Identifier. This is a unique URL that identifies this article (and a short cut to it on the web!)
Articles appear in magazines, newspapers, and journals.
Scholarly articles appear in journals and they are written by researchers, professors and other experts.They contain:
Expert knowledge
Are double checked for accuracy
Have good research methods
Focus on a specific topic/issue
Scholarly, peer-reviewed articles are the most credible sources you can find because of the rigorous peer-review process.We recommend researching using articles because they represent the type of research and writing you should be aiming for in your own assignments.
You might also find an article that disagrees with your argument. Incorporating “dissenting” sources into your paper and debating their merit with your other supporting sources is exactly what scholarship is about. Scholarly writing is a conversation and a debate between your ideas and your sources.
Remember that accuracy and quality of information matters.
A database is an organized collection of information. Computer databases with web interfaces allow users to easily identify relevent content and in some cases even provide the complete article. Netflix is a database of streaming video; Amazon is a database of consumer goods; subject-specific library databases are collections of scholarly articles, ebooks, and more.
Library databases allow you to search through millions of scholarly and popular articles, making your life easier. Often, they let you:
Read full text of articles in PDF or HTML (just look for the “Full Text Link” or the “Search for Full Text” link).
Narrow your results to only “peer reviewed”
Email the article to yourself
Show you how to cite your article in APA,MLA (or another citation style you need)
