Fashion

   What is a Journal?

A journal is a collection of articles, written by different people.  A journal will focus on a topic or subject and the articles published within it all relate to that topic.  They are published at regular intervals and can be a key source of research and academic information.

There are several different types of journal that you can access:

• Academic/scholarly journals - these include research and are often peer reviewed (other experts in the field evaluate the article before it is accepted for publication to ensure quality is maintained).
• Trade or professional magazines - aimed at people interested in or working in a particular area.  Often include articles, reviews, features and news.

  What is an article?

Journals are made up of articles, these are  individual pieces of research written by an academic, professional or expert on a particular subject or topic.  They are published together with other articles by other authors in a journal.  However, they don’t go into as much detail as books.  

Understanding journal references

To access journals, you will need to understand a journal reference.  They will generally include these details in this order (most journals will have a volume and issue number but some may not):

Example of parts of a journal reference

When included in a reference list, this journal article reference will look like this:

WILSON, R.T. and B.D. TILL, 2008. Airport advertising effectiveness: an exploratory field study. Journal of advertising, 37(1), 59-72

How do I find journals?

Find an entire journal and access it by searching for it in the Library Catalogue (you will only be able to access titles to which the Library subscribes).

How do I find articles within journals?

You can search for articles on your topic, regardless of which journal they are in, by using the 'Articles' search option on the Catalogue to do this at a basic level.  Or for more flexible and in-depth searching, use the eResources relevant to your subject (listed in the Articles & eResources menu on the left).

You could also try searching Google Scholar for wider literature, including articles.  Some will link you to the full text but not all will. 

  How do I find journal articles?
 

1) Check your Reading list!

• If your lecturer has recommended some titles, click on these, follow the access instructions and then do a basic search. 
• It's always a good idea to reference some journal articles from recommended sources in your assignments

2) Do a quick search on the 'Articles & Conference proceedings' drop down via the Library Catalogue

• Enter your search terms

• Refine your results using the Peer-reviewed Journals option (this then lists articles from the most scholarly journals)

• Use View online to see where you can access the article 

• Check the access instructions and then GO!  

 The Articles tab is very general and you may get a lot of results which are not relevant. 

3) Use a Library eResource

• Here you can locate journal articles on specific topics which are directly aimed at your subject area.  Find details in the eResources section on the left.
   

The Library pays for you to have access to these key resources and you will improve your marks if you read and reference appropriate library materials in your work!

Google Scholar is a search engine that allows you to search for more academic content on the web.  You can use it to track down journal articles, book details and more.  You can set it up to show you which results you can access via a Solent University library subscription.
 

Link to full text content from Solent University Library

This will tell you if the Library has a copy of the article for you to read or not.  To set this up on your device:

• In Scholar, click on the icon in the top left corner:  
• Select Settings and then select 'Library Links'.  Enter 'Solent' in the search box then select Solent University - Is it @ Solent and Save. 
• Any results available via Solent will now show this link to give you access: ​​

OFF CAMPUS: You must check the access information for each article via the Is It @ Solent screens and login to view. 

Send reference details to RefWorks

Set up a link to 'Import into RefWorks' for each result in your list.  To set this up, go into the  menu, select Settings and in the 'Bibliography Manager' section, select RefWorks and save.
 

Basic and Advanced search
Enter your search terms into the Basic search box.  If you want more control over your search, you can access the Advanced search via the  icon.
Results list
Your results list will include a number of options for each result where you can view other items that might be of interest, mark the item to read later and send the reference to RefWorks etc.

• Select the to add the article to your 'My library'.
• Cited by: links you to other resources which have referenced (cited) that document.
• Related articles: see a list of other articles you may be interested in.
• Import into RefWorks: send the reference details into RefWorks (or use the option under the  to send to RefWorks).

My Library
Sign in and access articles you have saved.  Save articles by clicking on the star icon beside it in the results list.

Guided Learning Activity