Skip to Main Content

Norwalk Campus Library

Norwalk World Civilization

Search Norwalk Library Catalog

Search for books, ebooks, articles, Journals, and media. 
More Search Options 

Recommended Databases

Find Articles

What are Articles?

Articles are shorter written works that are contained or published within a larger work such as a newspaper, magazine, or journal.

When should I use Articles?

In general, articles are best used when you are looking for current, reliable information. 

Articles May be Useful When... Articles May NOT be Useful When...

 Your topic is very recent
Articles, especially in newspapers and magazines, are intended to keep people up-to-date on the latest development in various issues, so they are very useful if you are tracking new developments and progress of a topic.
Example: The most recent debate and developments surrounding the issue of gay marriage and civil unions

 You need background or overview information
You cannot trace the whole history of an issue in one magazine or journal article!
Example: Causes of the civil war in the United States

 Your topic is very narrow in scope
Sometimes you are interested in something so specific that there will not be whole books written about the topic!
Example: The correlation of SAT scores to college success in the tri-state area

 Your topic covers a long time span
When something has a long history, you may only find one aspect discussed in a magazine or journal article
Example: The impact of Brown vs. Board of Education on the public school system in the US

(Table content from WCSU Libraries "Research Basics" guide, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International License)

Types of Articles

Article Type Definition Uses
Academic/Scholarly Articles

Written by experts in the field for an audience of their colleagues and are usually published in academic journals.
They are the primary means by which scholars share and debate their discoveries and ideas.
"Peer reviewed" articles are generally considered the best scholarly articles because they have been reviewed by other experts in the field for accuracy before being published.

You might be reading a scholarly article if...

  • There is an abstract summarizing the article at the beginning
  • There are footnotes throughout the article
  • There is a list of references at the end of the article

Most of your academic research sources should consist of scholarly articles.

Good for showing expert opinions and backing up your arguments.

Good for getting in-depth analysis of a topic.

Magazine Articles

Written for a general audience and published in a magazine.
Magazines are typically published weekly or monthly.

You might be reading a magazine article if...

  • There is not a list of sources at the end of the article
  • There are photos and/or advertisements in the article

Can be useful for gathering background information on a topic.

Can be good for finding current information on a topic.

Newspaper Articles

Written by journalists for a general audience and published in a newspaper.
Newspapers are typically published daily, or in the case of some local newspapers, weekly.

You might be reading a newspaper article if...

  • There is not a list of sources at the end of the article
  • The article begins with an indication of the location it was written in and/or about

Good for gathering current, reliable information on a topic.

Can often be considered a "primary source".

Screenshot of recommended filters to find articles in NCC (re)SEARCH.Hint! If you're searching for articles using the Norwalk Library Catalog search box, use the filters on the left under "Tweek my results" to narrow your results to only include articles. You should definitely select the "Articles" filter.  Other recommended, but not required filters are "Full text online" and "Peer-reviewed journals". 

The "Full text online" filter will help ensure you only see articles you can read the full text of online.

To further narrow your results you might want to consider the "Peer-reviewed journals" filter. "Peer reviewed" is widely considered the "gold standard" for academic research because it means experts in the field reviewed the article and determined the information credible. Sometimes professors will require you to use peer-reviewed resources, so be sure to check your assignment details and remember this handy filter!

What is the Difference Between Popular & Scholarly Articles?

POPULAR     SCHOLARLY
Written by journalists for the public. Written by and for experts in a field.
Reviewed by an editor. Reviewed by a group of peers who are experts in the field.
Many illustrations and advertisements. Very few illustrations and advertisements.

May or may not cite sources. 

Usually shorter articles than journal articles.

Cites sources and ontains footnotes and a  bibliography.

Usually longer articles than popular articles.