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CMST 220 - Public Speaking (Bratton): Types of Sources

Library information and resources for Amy Bratton's CMST 220 class

What is a periodical?

A periodical is any type of publication that is published on a regular, or periodic, basis. You are probably familiar with two kinds of periodicals: magazines and newspapers. But there are other types: professional/trade journals, journals of opinion, and scholarly/research journals. Use the chart to learn the difference and help you decide which type is appropriate for a specific need.

Examples:

  • The Columbian
  • The New York Times
  • The Washington Post

Value or Use:

  • Current information
  • News stories
  • Opinion and commentary
  • Texts of speeches, etc.
  • Geographic focus

Best Newspaper Indexes/Databases:

Examples:

  • Time
  • Newsweek

Value or Use:

  • Current events overviews
  • Non-technical language
  • Charts, pictures, graphs

Best Magazine Indexes/Databases:

Examples:

  • American Machinist
  • Library Journal

Value or Use:

  • Written for practitioners in applied fields
  • Product information
  • Current trends and practices

General Indexes/Databases:

Examples:

  • Commentary
  • The New Republic

Value or Use:

  • Written from a political viewpoint (liberal, conservative)
  • General educated audience
  • Commentary on politics, society
  • Book reviews

General Indexes/Databases:

Also called peer-reviewed or academic

Examples:

  • Journal of Reading
  • New England Journal of Medicine

Value or Use:

  • Reports of original research
  • In-depth analysis of topics
  • Usually contains sections on Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, and Works Cited/References
  • Uses technical vocabulary

Specialized Disciplinary Indexes, Abstracts/Databases:

Subject Encyclopedias

Subject Encyclopedias:

  • cover one subject in-depth;

  • contain articles usually written by subject scholars and experts;

  • always cite sources of information;

  • are written at college or higher reading level;

  • are usually acceptable sources for college-level papers.

Four good reasons to use subject encyclopedias:

  • Get an overview of your topic from a reliable source.
  • Gather valuable keywords (words, phrases, names, dates and events.)
  • Find related topics using the cross-references.
  • Find related articles using the sources.

Find Subject encyclopedias in both print and digital format:

  • Print Subject Encyclopedias are:
    • shelved in the reference section,
    • arranged by call number,
    • findable through the library catalog.
  • Digital Subject Encyclopedias are:
    • NOT available free by searching Google or any other search engine,
    • ARE available on the library’s website (because the library buys them for you to access).

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