Terminology
'Periodicals' are regularly occurring publications. Examples include:
- monthly journals
- weekly magazines
- daily newspapers
Periodical databases are created by vendors who negotiate with publishers, to gain the rights to gather articles from hundreds of publications (journals, magazines, newspapers). The database vendors provide features to enable the end user to identify articles on a given topic. These feature include the search interface, standardized indexing terms (subject terms), citation information, email and export functions. Examples include Ebsco's (the vendor) Political Science Complete and Academic Search Complete.
Individual publishers may host their own platform and search interface. Examples include Cambridge University Press, SAGE, and Wiley.
Libraries subscribe to many periodical databases from multiple vendors, to provide access to content for their constituents.
Articles > Journals > Periodical Databases > Provided by the Library
Citations are Maps to an Article's Location
The citation identifies the location of the article, enabling the reader to track down the article. Portions of the nested diagram are reflected in the citation components.
There are several different citation styles (APA, MLA, Chicago-Turabian, APSA), which vary in the number and the order of their components, and in the display formatting. However, all citation styles contain the following elements:
- Author of the article.
- Year of publication.
- Title of article.
- Title of periodical.
- Volume number (issue number), pages.
- Title of the periodical database (MLA style only).
- DOI number (ex.:https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyy) or Permalink.