A number of TCC's Library databases will allow you to search for journals by title. In the example below, we clicked on "Publications" in Academic Search Complete to get to this page. From here, we can browse the alphabetical list of titles or enter a specific journal title in the search box.
The TCC libraries subscribe to over one hundred different online database. Each database contains information that was previously published in thousands of journals, magazines and newspapers. So, how do you know which database contains the full text of a specific journal? Also, how do you search within one specific journal in a database?
Finding out which database contains the full text of a specific journal:
Use the Electronic Journal Titles search to determine if any of the TCC subscription databases contain full text articles from your chosen journal. Just enter the journal name (leave off any leading words/phrases like "the") in the Find E-Journals search box and click on Search.
Your search results will contain an alphabetical list of journals with links to the various databases containing the journal and information on the dates covered in the database.
Searching within one specific journal in a database:
If the link from your Find E-Journals search does not take you to the journal record in the database but to a general search screen, look for a link that says Publications or Sources somewhere on the main search screen. Search for your journal title on the publications or sources page of the database search interface and then click on the journal name to search within that one journal.
The Internet is good for a lot of searches and source types. For example, if you need very current information or news and commentary, Web searching is a good strategy.
Databases are special -- they are collections of information (usually articles from magazines and scholarly sources) made available to subscribers. Databases are very valuable because they contain and maintain specific collections, and are relatively easy to search. We use the Web to access Database collections, but articles accessed are not considered "online" or "web" sources in the same way that a Wikipedia entry is.
Scholarly journals differ from popular magazines in a number of important ways. Popular magazines are produced for a wide audience and provide basic information and/or entertainment. Scholarly journals are written for scholars, students, and researchers and exist to advance the cause of research in a given field.
Here are some clues that will help you identify scholarly journals. Scholarly journals:
· Usually contain an abstract, or summary, before the main text of the article.
· Contain reports of research results.
· Always cite their sources with footnotes and/or bibliographies.
· Have serious formats rather than the glossy, slick formats found in popular magazines.
· Contain graphs or charts detailing the research described by the article.
· Are written by scholars or researchers. The authors’ affiliations will be listed on the first page or at the end of the article.
· Are usually published by a professional organization.
· Assume some technical background on the part of the reader—the language used is discipline-specific.
Sometimes your instructors at TCC will direct you to limit your research to scholarly, academic, refereed, or peer-reviewed journals. Peer review is a process designed to ensure the best scholarship possible. Through this process, an author sends an article to other academics and experts in the field. These experts supply the author with their comments and criticisms in an effort to improve the article. After the peer-review process is complete the article is published.
A number of TCC's Library databases will enable you to limit your searches to academic journals. It's as simple as putting a checkmark in the appropriate box, as illustrated below.
