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Anthropology

When to Use Electronic Journals vs. Databases

Are you trying to decide whether to use our Electronic Journals vs. Databases?

Go to Electronic Journals when you have a specific citation or reference.

Go to Databases when you have a research topic.  See "Find Articles" Page.

Databases and Electronic Journals, What's the difference?

An Electronic Journal (or E-journal) is a traditional journal that is in an electronic format; either because it was originally created that way, or because someone took a print journal article and scanned it to make it available electronically.

A Database is what is created when a large number of electronic journals are put in one place and a search interface (usually a search box) is added to help find what you need. Both databases and electronic journals can be subject specific. When you have a database that only has the title or abstract, but not the full text, it is usually referred to as an Index.

Scholarly Journals vs. Popular Journals

Scholarly journals have articles written by researchers who are considered experts in a field. These journals are also known as "peer-reviewed," "refereed" or "academic" journals.  Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) is a scholarly journal. Popular magazines have articles written by writers or journalists. Time or Newsweek are examples of popular journals.

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Last updated on Nov 17, 2023 10:42 AM