LibGuides: POLS-426 Who Are We? (Messina): Articles

About Articles

What are Articles?

Articles are shorter written works that are contained or published within a larger work such as a newspaper, magazine, or journal.

When should I use Articles?

In general, articles are best used when you are looking for current, reliable information.

Articles May be Useful When...	Articles May NOT be Useful When...
Your topic is very recent Articles, especially in newspapers and magazines, are intended to keep people up-to-date on the latest development in various issues, so they are very useful if you are tracking new developments and progress of a topic. Example: The most recent debate and developments surrounding the issue of gay marriage and civil unions	You need background or overview information You cannot trace the whole history of an issue in one magazine or journal article! Example: Causes of the civil war in the United States
Your topic is very narrow in scope Sometimes you are interested in something so specific that there will not be whole books written about the topic! Example: The correlation of SAT scores to college success in the tri-state area	Your topic covers a long time span When something has a long history, you may only find one aspect discussed in a magazine or journal article Example: The impact of Brown vs. Board of Education on the public school system in the US

(Table content from WCSU Libraries "Research Basics" guide, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International License)

Types of Articles

Article Type	Definition	Uses
Academic/Scholarly Articles	Written by experts in the field for an audience of their colleagues and are usually published in academic journals. They are the primary means by which scholars share and debate their discoveries and ideas. "Peer reviewed" articles are generally considered the best scholarly articles because they have been reviewed by other experts in the field for accuracy before being published. You might be reading a scholarly article if... There is an abstract summarizing the article at the beginning There are footnotes throughout the article There is a list of references at the end of the article	Most of your academic research sources should consist of scholarly articles. Good for showing expert opinions and backing up your arguments. Good for getting in-depth analysis of a topic.
Magazine Articles	Written for a general audience and published in a magazine. Magazines are typically published weekly or monthly. You might be reading a magazine article if... There is not a list of sources at the end of the article There are photos and/or advertisements in the article	Can be useful for gathering background information on a topic. Can be good for finding current information on a topic.
Newspaper Articles	Written by journalists for a general audience and published in a newspaper. Newspapers are typically published daily, or in the case of some local newspapers, weekly. You might be reading a newspaper article if... There is not a list of sources at the end of the article The article begins with an indication of the location it was written in and/or about	Good for gathering current, reliable information on a topic. Can often be considered a "primary source".

Article Type

Definition

Uses

Academic/Scholarly Articles

Written by experts in the field for an audience of their colleagues and are usually published in academic journals.
They are the primary means by which scholars share and debate their discoveries and ideas.
"Peer reviewed" articles are generally considered the best scholarly articles because they have been reviewed by other experts in the field for accuracy before being published.

You might be reading a scholarly article if...

There is an abstract summarizing the article at the beginning
There are footnotes throughout the article
There is a list of references at the end of the article

Most of your academic research sources should consist of scholarly articles.

Good for showing expert opinions and backing up your arguments.

Good for getting in-depth analysis of a topic.

Magazine Articles

Written for a general audience and published in a magazine.
Magazines are typically published weekly or monthly.

You might be reading a magazine article if...

There is not a list of sources at the end of the article
There are photos and/or advertisements in the article

Can be useful for gathering background information on a topic.

Can be good for finding current information on a topic.

Newspaper Articles

Written by journalists for a general audience and published in a newspaper.
Newspapers are typically published daily, or in the case of some local newspapers, weekly.

You might be reading a newspaper article if...

There is not a list of sources at the end of the article
The article begins with an indication of the location it was written in and/or about

Good for gathering current, reliable information on a topic.

Can often be considered a "primary source".

Best Bets

HeinOnline

HeinOnline is the world’s largest fully searchable, image-based government document and legal research database. It contains comprehensive coverage from inception of both U.S. statutory materials and more than 2,300 scholarly journals, all of the world’s constitutions, all U.S. treaties, collections of classic treatises and presidential documents, and access to the full text of state and federal case law powered by Fastcase.
PAIS Index
This resource covers issues in the public debate through selective coverage of a wide variety of international sources including journal articles, books, government documents, statistical directories, grey literature, research reports, conference papers, web content, and more. PAIS International is the current file covering 1972 to present, and PAIS Archive includes the content from printed volumes published 1915-1976.
Cambridge Journals (Humanities & Social Sciences)

From Cambridge Core, Trinity's access to a collection of journals from Cambridge University Press. Current subscription is to the Humanities and Social Sciences Collection. Note: not all items are full-text.
Sage Journals

Contains more than 1,000 journals in Business, Humanities, Social Sciences, and Science, Technology and Medicine.
Taylor & Francis Social Science & Humanities Journals

Over 1,400 online journals from ca. 1997 - present.

Newspaper Articles

Access World News Research Collection (Newsbank)
A full-text news resource consisting of local, regional, national and international sources. Updated daily, it offers primary source information on today’s issues and events from newspapers, newswires, transcripts, video clips, web only, and blogs.
U.S. Major Dailies (ProQuest)

Includes recent and current content of the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. Coverage: 1980-current. Individual titles have varying coverage dates.
News, Policy & Politics Magazine Archive (featuring Newsweek)

An archival collection comprising the backfiles of 15 major magazines (including the Newsweek archive), spanning areas including current events, international relations, and public policy. Coverage: 1918-2015 (varies by title).
Newspaper Source Plus

Newspaper Source Plus includes full-text U.S. and international newspapers, television and radio news transcripts, and newswires.
Washington Post (site license)
Site license to the Washington Post website for current staff, faculty, and students. Select SSO from the sign in option list and sign in with your Trinity credentials. Site license provides the latest 5 years of content. Accessible to guests while visiting the library in person. NOTE: Vendor reports known intermittent problems with EZ Proxy.
New York Times (website site license)
Trinity College's site license to the New York Times (nytimes.com).
Individual registration is required.
Create a NYTimes.com account using your institutional email, or your pre-existing profile, following the steps below:
1. Go to https://nytimesineducation.com/access-nyt/
2. Search and select “Trinity College - Hartford, CT”
3. Create an account using your Trinity College email address
4. Select your status at Trinity (i.e. Faculty/Staff or Student) and enter your expected graduation year, if applicable
*Note: It is recommended to set up your account while on campus.
Faculty and staff must re-register every 4 years. Students have access until graduation.
Watch this video on Activating Your Access to the New York Times for more detailed instructions on setting up your account. If you have any trouble setting up your account following these directions, please create a ticket at https://trincoll.haloitsm.com/portal/ (Make a request>Library>Library Resource Access Problem).

POLS-426 Who Are We? (Messina)

About Articles

Using Articles

What are Articles?

When should I use Articles?

Types of Articles

Types of Articles

Best Bets

Other Scholarly Article Databases

Newspaper Articles