Journal articles allow researchers to dive deeper into a specific aspect of a subject and are written by subject matter experts. There are, of course, different types of journal articles as well. Journal articles can be scholarly in nature, popular, or a trade magazine.
For college-level research papers, you generally want to obtain information from scholarly journals, as these articles are written for research purposes. Trade magazines, such as Elevator World or Beef Today (yes, those are real!) are good sources if the information you're looking for pertains to that specific industry and you require information on the latest trends. Popular magazines, like Time or The Atlantic, should be used sparingly, as those articles tend to be written more for entertainment purposes. To see all of the databases the library has to offer, visit our A-Z Database page.
Google has it's uses but scholarly research is not one of them. It's important to remember that any research should be done via library databases. The infographic below, created by Community College of Baltimore County Library, illustrates why Databases are better than Google for research.
Doing a Google-like keyword search in a database is the #basic way to do research. Using advanced searching techniques, like boolean operators, is a great way to get accurate and focused results. Take a look at the infographic below, once again created by our friends at the Community College of Baltimore County Library, for more details.
