Locating Periodical Materials

Periodicals Index, usually arranged in a print form or online databases, is the most effective method to locate specific periodical materials. Both the print and online index formats are searchable by subject, author, title, or publication's title. Please note that to search in most library databases, you need to have an account with that particular library to access restricted areas.

To better prepare you for the academic demands of higher education in the U.S., these activities are designed expose you to some effective methods in locating each type of periodical materials.

Sequence: Click on each box to explore the activities in the order as shown.

1		2		3		4		5
								FINAL CHECKLIST
Searching for a Newspaper Article		Locating a Journal Article: Understanding a Citation		Locating a Journal Article: Latest Received Link		Locating a Journal Article: Online Database Search

Newspapers including other periodicals materials at most libraries are broadly organized as current and older issues. The current issues are usually shelved on magazine-type racks while older issues would be bound into volumes. The activities provided below will show you how to search for a particular newspaper issue that has been taken off of the shelves.

Take a look at the Journal Search page of Cal State L.A. library Web site to get an idea of how to specify your search. Once the page loads, type "los angeles times" in the Enter Search Term(s) field and click the Search button. What happen? Can you access the database? Do you know why or why not?

View the following video clip. While viewing, find out how to specify the search criteria in order to get the specific issue of the desired newspaper.

Video Clip Searching for a Newspaper Article

Incorporate the information learned from Step 1 and Step 2 to complete this short-quiz activity.

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The activities in this section will circle around a student who has acquired a citation of a journal article that he has searched from electronic databases. Follow the activities in sequence to learn more about a citation page and different procedures required to physically locate the articles found on the citation.

A search results page or a citation acquired from electronic databases usually contains various types of information that may be confusing for new researchers. Knowing where to look for or what it means by title , abstract, or accession number can help you locate the actual library items more effectively.

Print out the citation that the student has acquired from his search. Explore the types of information provided on the citation and have it handy while viewing the video clip in Step 2.

Note: You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to access the page.

View the following video clip. While viewing, pay attention to these issues:

    1) The types of information provided on a citation from databases search.

    2) How to specify search criteria to get the specific item that the student wants.

    3) The steps required in order to locate the actual articles.

Video Clip Locating a Journal Article: Understanding a Citation

Note: The word 'title' that is mentioned in this video clip refers to the title of a journal publication, not the article's title.

Incorporate the information learned from Steps 1 - 3 to complete this multiple-choice activity.

For more information about how to do an effective journals search, read these information pages provided by Cal State L.A. library:    - Locating PERIODICAL Title and Holdings Information    - Art on Finding Articles

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The next step after you have acquired the citation from database search is to check with the Library Catalog whether it carries the particular article that you want. The activities below will introduce you to the Latest Received Link, one of useful information displayed on the Library Catalog's citation page.

Check out the citation page retrieved from the Library Catalog before checking out the Latest Received page to see a sample of the information displayed once you click on the "Latest received" link of the citation page.

Note: You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to access the above pages.

View the following video clip. While viewing, pay attention to how useful the latest received link is to the locating the actual library item.

Video Clip Locating a Journal Article: Latest Received Link

Incorporate the information learned from Step 1 and Step 2 to complete this multiple-choice activity.

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There is a vast number of databases that are searchable online. Access to these databases is granted according to each library subscription agreement. The database that is mentioned in this video clip is called ERIC. Most libraries at U.S. universities carry ERIC database materials either in an electronic format or microform format.

Print out the citation that the student has acquired from his search. Explore the types of information provided on the citation and use it to complete the activity in Step 2.

Note: You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to access this page.

Use the citation from Step 1 to complete this  matching activity.

View the following video clip. While viewing, pay close attention to these issues:

    1) The type of ERIC materials that the student is searching for.

    2) The search procedures that the Periodicals desk staff recommends the student to follow.

Video Clip Locating a Journal Article: Online Database Search

Incorporate the information learned from Steps 1 - 3 to complete this multiple-choice activity.

If interested, visit the official Web site of the ERIC database. For more information about how to do an effective journals search, read the Art on Finding Articles provided by Cal State L.A. library.

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Don't forget! If needed, you may replay the video clip again and again and again and again... before checking out the answer clues!