| What is a Journal? |
A journal is a scholarly
publication issued in parts, with a scholarly audience.
It differs from a magazine which is a continuing publication,
informal in tone, and intended for a general audience, not
scholarly in nature. A journal's intent is to
add to the body
of knowledge on a given subject.
|
Academic/Scholarly Journals,
Magazines and Newspapers are grouped under the generic
heading "Periodicals". A periodical is a "serial
with a distinctive title" issued at regular intervals,
more than once a year.
|
Academic/Scholarly
Journals
A journal is a periodical whose aim is to provide
scholars and researchers with
the means to describe new research
or ideas and share their findings with the scholarly community
and with the public. Articles are peer-reviewed, that is,
examined and evaluated by experts before
being accepted for publication. Many journals also include
scholarly review articles which provide an overview of
research
on a given subject; some have news sections which give
updates
on recent research, but these are not research articles. Journal articles are
always formal in manner, include background
information, methods used, results/interpretation and
significance, and often require specialised knowledge
or
vocabulary to be understood. Research and review articles will
always have footnotes and bibliographies.
Magazines
A magazine is a periodical written for the
general public and intended to
entertain and inform.
Articles are not necessarily written by experts, are not
peer-reviewed and almost never have bibliographies. They
may contain facts,
but could equally contain
anecdote or opinion. They sometimes report on
research published
in scholarly journals.
|
DCU Library
subscribes to over 800 print journals, magazines and
newspapers, many of which also offer access to web
versions.
In addition the library subscribes to databases
which provide access
to e-journals not available in print
format in the Library. |
e-Journals
e-journals or electronic journals are:
|
● |
the electronic version, accessible via the World Wide Web, of a
print journal
|
|
● |
an electronic journal, published only on the Web, which
has no print equivalent
|
|
