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Articles are shorter written works that are contained or published within a larger work such as a newspaper, magazine, or journal.
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... |
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Your topic is very recent |
You need background or overview information |
Your topic is very narrow in scope |
Your topic covers a long time span |
(Table content from WCSU Libraries "Research Basics" guide, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International License)
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. You might be reading a scholarly article if...
|
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. You might be reading a magazine article if...
|
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. You might be reading a newspaper article if...
|
Good for gathering current, reliable information on a topic. Can often be considered a "primary source". |
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!