Books
Books often contain a wealth of in-depth information
and may be useful in research. They do, however, have some drawbacks.
Sometimes you do not know if the author of the book is credible or
not. Also, because books are so much longer than periodical articles,
it would be much faster to read a periodical article if you are required
to cite from multiple sources. Books may also contain outdated information
because in most scientific fields information changes rapidly.
Popular Magazines
Popular magazines like Time, Psychology Today,
and National Geographic are written for the general public by writers
who may not be professionals in a specific field and may not have the experience
or knowledge to cover topics authoritatively. Popular magazine articles
are
not very long and do not contain a work cited, so the reader has no way
to determine where the writer obtained his sources. These articles
are usually fairly easy to read and access. For these two reasons
many students like to use popular magazines in their papers.
Some instructors may ask you not to use popular magazines because they are not written by qualified experts and do not contain a work cited. Instead they may ask you to explore a less familiar type of periodical, the professional journal. In the PVCC library popular magazines are accessed through the print index The Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature and other computer databases.
When using the computer databases at Paradise Valley Community College library or any other library, it is a good idea to find out exactly what types of sources they access before you do any research, so you do not waste your time using a database that does not access the types of sources specified by your instructor.
Professional Magazines
Professional magazines are similar to popular magazines,
but these periodicals are written for professionals in fields like education,
business, computers, and so forth. A professional magazine, like its
counterpart the popular magazine, may contain useful information, but the
articles are usually written by a professional writer and are not as long
as journal articles, nor is the text followed by a bibliography of sources.
Journals
Journals are a type of periodical written by a professional
in the field rather than a writer, and most articles have a bibliography
of sources at the end, so if necessary, the accuracy of the sources used
to write the article can be verified. In addition, the articles are
longer and more technical in nature. Most professional journals have
an editorial review board of experts in the field who determine if the
article submitted is credible in a specific field before the article is
published. Professional journals are an excellent research source
because of the credibility of the author, the credibility of the editorial
experts, the in-depth nature of the articles, and the work cited.
Because of the technical nature of journal articles, these articles are sometimes more difficult to read.
If your instructor is trying to direct the class toward more academic and scholarly research that will be frequently required in upper-division and professional research, he or she may require you to use professional journals as a primary source of information.
Journals can usually be accessed in two specific ways at the Paradise Valley Community College library:
Independent Research
Some instructors may ask their students to conduct their
own research in the form of surveys, experiments, or interviews.
Usually they will set up the guidelines for independent research.
These types of sources are usually not used exclusively for a student research
paper but are combined with several other types of research sources like
professional magazines and journals. The MLA Handbook shows
you how to document some types of independent research like interviews.
Internet Sources
Many students think that the internet is the best place
to do research. Unless you are accessing academically credible sources,
it
is not the first place to do research. There are many individuals
who place items on the internet that have little if any credibility. Usually
the specialized print indexes in the library and electronic databases
that access the type of source you have been asked to submit are the first
and best place to look for sources. Use the internet to supplement
sources already found in these locations.
Some good research can be obtained if you can locate on the internet a good electronic periodical index that accesses bibliographic citations to the types of sources your instructor has asked for, similar to using the print and electronic databases in the library. For example, if you have access to the internet at home and have a library card at PVCC, you can go to PVCC's home page and click on "Library" and under "Library" click on "Databases." Clicking on "Databases" will get you to several electronic databases. With a PVCC library card off campus and no card on campus, you can access and get bibliographic citations and some full-text articles from periodicals and journals. The library is adding new online databases all the time. Check with the reference librarians for a complete description of the new online databases. It is important to be well informed about what types of sources each online database accesses so that you use the database that best fits your topic and source requirements. Pick up the remote access handout in the library to learn how to access these databases.
To use remote access, you will need to make sure that your library card is currently activated and that you have all the correct passwords to use each of the individual online databases. Pick up the remote access handout in the library to learn how to access these databases.
If the source originally appeared as a previously printed
source like a book, popular magazine, professional magazine, or journal,
and if it fits your instructor's source requirement, you probably can use
it.