To find articles that appear in periodicals (newspapers, magazines and journals)
use an INDEX. Indexes provide subject access to periodical articles.
Why use an index?
You browse through a magazine or two to find an interesting article but:
- It could take hours to find an article on your exact topic.
- You might miss something really important or interesting that was published in a journal or magazine that you didn’t know existed.
Using an index to search for a topic can result in a list of articles about your topic from many different publications. Indexes provide access to a large number of articles in magazines, journals, newspapers; much more than
what one library owns.
Are all indexes alike?
There are different types of indexes:
- General indexes -- cover a wide variety of subjects; they include citations and sometimes provide the full text
of the article from both popular magazines and scholarly journals.
Example: Academic Search Complete (http://proxy.libraries.uc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?profile=ehost&defaultdb=a9h)
- Subject specific indexes -- concentrate on one topical area, or a few related areas. It’s best to use these when
you need to do in-depth research on a specific topic that is not well covered in a general index.
Examples:
How do you access an index?
All of the indexes the library subscribes to can be accessed by clicking on the ‘Articles and Databases’ link from the library’s website (http://www.ucclermont.edu/library), Or you can access the Articles and Databases web page direstily at http://www.libraries.uc.edu/research/articles/index.html.
The library also has guides that will help you identify indexes appropriate to programs and classes at Clermont College. You can access the guides at http://www.ucclermont.edu/library/guides.html.
If you are off campus, use the ‘Off Campus Access’ link on the Library’s website to authenticate that you are a University of Cincinnati student, faculty or staff.
How to select the appropriate indexes?
Here are some tips for choosing appropriate indexes:
- Examine your assignment.
- What types of articles/information do you need?
- Do they need newspaper articles? If so, you may want to use a specialized newspaper index such as:
- Do you need articles from a scholarly journal (a peer reviewed research publication) or is it ok to use popular magazine such as Time magazine or Newsweek magazine? For more information on these types of publication, see the library guide entitled: Scholarly Journal v General Interest/Popular Magazines
- What topic have you chosen? Is there a subject specific index that matches the topic?
- If it is a broad topic, or one that it commonly discussed, you may be able to use a general index such as Academic Search Complete (http://proxy.libraries.uc.edu/login?url=http://search.epnet.com/login.asp?profile=web&defaultdb=aph).
- How much time do you have?
- If your deadline is approaching quickly you may want to use a database that provides full text articles.
- If you have difficulty locating the correct index, please ask the Librarians.
Once you are in an index what do you do?
Always read the “HELP” screen for any index you are searching in for the first time. The “HELP” screen will show you the types of search strategies you may use to accomplish your search.
Always read the “Database Description” to be sure you understand the types of periodicals that are indexed in the database and what subject areas and timeframes are covered by the database.
Some text used with permission of University Libraries, Arizona State University from their SunTutor. These original sources have been modified for use by the University Cincinnati Clermont College Library.
created 08/2003, revised 10/2007 - Rosemary Young
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