6.1 Periodical Articles and Indexes

Nine things you need to know about periodicals

1. Periodical articles are very important sources of information for academic research.
   
   
2. Periodicals include newspapers and magazines and scholarly journals.
   
   
3. The journals are where the results of cutting-edge research are first published.  And in some fields the journals are more highly regarded than books.
   
   
4. Many periodicals can be found online in an electronic format, or in a printed version in the library.
   
   
5. The articles in periodicals are not indexed in the library catalog.  And they are not indexed to a useful extebt by general web search engines such as Google or Yahoo!
   
   
6. These articles are indexed, and can be searched, in a number of online databases available through the Penfield Library web site.
   
   
7. The databases vary in the subjects and periodicals they cover, and in the extent to which they deliver the full text of articles online.  The Research Subject Guides on the Penfield Library web site will lead you to good databases for your research topic.
   
   
8. All the databases can be searched much the same way you search the library catalog.
   
   
9. Only a few of the databases are part of the free access Worldwide Web.  Access to Penfield Library databases is restricted to learners and scholars of the SUNY Oswego community and paid for through your tax and tuition money.  You need an activated Oswego CTS computer account to access the databases from off-campus