- Applied Social Sciences and Social Work
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- Accessing your reading lists
- Databases For My Subject
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- Referencing and plagiarism
- Search tips & tricks
- Accessing the literature
- Dissertations and research
- About us
- Accessing your reading lists
- Databases For My Subject
- Document supply
- Staff and researchers
- DISCOVER
- About us
- How to...
- Web resources
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- Charities
- Statistics
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- How to critically evaluate a webpage
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- Web resources you can trust
- Electronic Discussion Lists
- Getting the best from Google
- Domain names and country codes
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- Getting the best from Google Scholar
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- Unit Readings
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- Social Enquiry (ASS022 1)
- Sociology of Deviance (ASS022 2)
- Forensic Mental Health
- Identity & Structure (ASS021 1)
- Contemporary Social Theory
- The Nature of Social Theory (ASS021 2)
- Crime, Punishment & Justice (ASS025 2)
- Global News and Media Audiences (ASS023 2)
- Sociology of Health & Illness (ASS016 3)
- Contempoary issues in criminology
- Contemporary issues in criminology
- Contemporary Society & Education (ASS020 1)
- Human Development
- Evidence Based Practice (EBP) for Social Care
- Dissertation in Criminology (ASS020 3)
- Working with Diversity & Difference
- Criminology & Sociology BA Special Study
- Mental Health in Practice
- Understanding the Welfare State & Education
- Poverty & Social Exclusion
- Introduction to Theories and Issues in Criminology (ASS021 1)
- Adult Social & Community Care
- Current Issues in Adult Services
- Introduction to the Social Sciences
- Introduction to Social Work Legislation
- Critical Ethical and Reflective Practice
- Working Together: Theories, Methods and Skills for Intervention
- Developing Academic & Professional Skills
- Working with Children Young People and Families: Core Concepts
- The Organisational and Disciplinary Nature of Professional Practice
- Assistive Status
- Finding information
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- Books
- E books
- Journal articles
- Magazines
- Statistics
- Useful classmarks for the Applied Social Sciences
- Newspaper articles
- Audio visual resources
- Web resources
- Reference books
- Legal materials
- Research reports
- Research Project (ASS01 3)
- Conference papers
- Human Development
- Government Reports
- Working with Diversity & Difference
- Books
- Academic & non academic
- Mental Health in Practice
- E books
- Journal articles
- Extended Practice Placement
- Poverty & Social Exclusion
- Statistics
- Newspaper articles
- Adult Social & Community Care
- Current Issues in Adult Services
- Reference books
- Legal materials
- Contemporary Society & Education
- Introduction to the Social Sciences
- Introduction to Social Work Legislation
- Critical Ethical and Reflective Practice
- Working Together: Theories, Methods and Skills for Intervention
- Developing Academic & Professional Skills
- Working with Children Young People and Families: Core Concepts
- The Organisational and Disciplinary Nature of Professional Practice
- Findinginformation
- Full text databases
- Dissertation Binding
- Referencing and plagiarism
- Search tips & tricks
- Accessing the literature
- Dissertations and research
- About us
Journal articles
Journal articles
A journal (also known as a periodical or serial) is a type of magazine which deals with a specialised topic, e.g. criminology. There are two main types of journal:
Academic journals
These are the main forum for the latest academic research. They contain long, scholarly articles written by academic researchers and have long lists of references at the end of each article. Many of the academic journals in the library and on your reading lists will be peer reviewed journals. This means that each article is checked by a panel of experts for quality before it is published in the journal. Peer reviewed journals have the greatest authority and will give authority to your work if you use them.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Published more frequently than books; therefore more up-to-date | May give too specific coverage if you need a broad overview of a topic or an introduction |
| Give you information on specific aspects of a topic | |
| Contain expert opinion; therefore have authority | |
| Give you ideas on academic writing (and how to reference) |
.
Professional magazines
These are written by professionals working in the field (who are not necessarily carrying out research and by journalists who may/may not have subject expertise.They contain short features and news items and usually have lots of pictures and advertisements. They are useful for keeping up-to-date with the latest news and developments in your subject but they do not have the same authority as academic journals and do not contain research papers.
Advantages | Disadvantages |
Good for keeping up-to-date with the latest news/developments in a subject. | DO NOT contain research papers. |
Articles are likely to be brief & have few (if any) references to other materials at the end. | |
Are not peer-reviewed |
Finding journals
Most journals are now available electronically via the Library Catalogue. To find a particular journal. Select the journal title option, type in the title of the journal, e.g. British Journal of Social Work and click the Search button. Follow the links to access the electronic version of the journal. N.B. If working off-campus you will need to enter your network login to access the journal.
A very small number of journals are still only produced in print format. To use these you must go to the journal shelves (Level 1 Journals section, Polhill Library; Ground Floor, Park Square LRC).
Finding journal articles on a topic
The easiest way to find useful journal articles on a topic is to use the DISCOVER resource discovery platform. DISCOVER allows you to search all of our databases and the library catalogue at the same time. This is much more effective than browsing shelves of printed journals hoping to find something useful.
You cannot find journal articles by simply searching the library catalogue.
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