MIT 144F: Week9
Accessing Periodicals: Suggestions prompted by the Callet et al. (1987) Article 

Periodicals have some important strengths:

 

 Many levels of the periodical literature (ranging roughly from the general to the specific) :

Points to Remember (Callet et al. 1987, 72):

  1. Periodical articles off information that is more up-to-date than information contained in books.
  2. There are articles on nearly any subject you may be researching.
  3. Periodicals make it possible for your to study and compare opinions of the experts in any given field.
  4. You can quickly and easily find out what has been written on a topic in the appropriate index(es).
  5. Periodical indexes fall into one of the two categories: general or subject.
  6. Your library's serials catalog provides locational information for periodicals and other serials.
 

Downie's Addenda:

  1. Start with a general search then work to specialized publications.
  2. Remember that the authority of the information "generally" increases with the specialization of the periodical.
  3. Be sure to match the periodical index to your particular level of search.
  4. The most powerful index is the one you understand: make sure to investigate the prefatory materials and record structures closely!

Some Starting Points:

Check out these URLs to the UWO OPAC. Note how many different ways periodical indexes are described in the LCSH descriptors. Pearl grow to make sure that you are not missing a good index.

Page creator: J. Stephen Downie
Page created: 3 November 1997
Page updated: 4 November 1997