Evaluating information: Journals and journal articles

Contents

1. Evaluating information: Journals and journal articles
2. What are journals?
3. Why should you read journals?
4. Accessing journals in the Library
5. Types of journal
6. Academic journals, also known as peer-reviewed or refereed journals
   1. Activity 1: Academic journals
   2. Activity 2: Peer-reviewed journals
7. Finding and accessing peer-reviewed journal articles
8. Trade publications (Trade press)
9. Professional journals
10. Popular magazines
11. Evaluating journal articles
    1. Purpose and content
    2. Authority
    3. Currency
    4. Objectivity/Bias
12. Summary

Types of journal

Before you evaluate your journal article you need to look at the journal itself to see if it is of good quality. There are different types of journal but this guide will cover:

• Academic journals also known as peer-reviewed or refereed journals
• Trade and professional journals
• Popular magazines

You can use a resource called Ulrichsweb to find out more about a particular journal title including information about whether the journal is peer-reviewed. This resource can be accessed via NORA: http://www.northumbria.ac.uk/nora (see A-Z List of Databases).

You can search for your journal by the title. Select it from the list of results, click "View Details" or look for the refereed icon.