How using journal articles in your studies can help you succeed at uni

1. How using journal articles
can help you succeed in your studies!
www.kent.ac.uk/library
Information Services

2. Let’s start with why
journals are great!

3. Journal articles
provide specialised
information on a topic
which means they’re useful
for essays, dissertations, and
seminar preparation

4. Journal articles
are much shorter than books
and give you access to the
latest thinking on a subject

5. Using good quality journal articles in your work
is likely to get you
better marks!

6. So what is a journal?

7. So what is a journal?

8. A journal
tends to have content
focussed around a particular
subject or area of interest
and is published at regular
intervals, for example weekly,
monthly, or quarterly

9. Like these, for example

10. The New
Law Journal
is published
weekly

11. American
Mathematical
Monthly speaks
for itself

12. And these
come out
quarterly,
ie 4 times
a year

13. What’s in a journal?

14. What’s in a journal?

15. Articles!
Each issue of a journal contains
a number of individual
articles, like chapters of a book

16. Articles!
Usually they cover different
topics within the same
subject area
Sometimes they concentrate on
a particular topic, but are
written by different specialists

17. Each article
is either based on original
research or experimentation
or reviews research or books
written by others

18. Here’s a
typical table
of contents
of a journal
issue

19. Except this
one is a
special issue
where all the
articles are
about poison
frogs

20. What’s the difference
between print and
online journals?

21. Online
can be accessed
easily anywhere
with an internet
connection

22. Online
articles can be
read online

23. Online
or downloaded
to your own
computer, mobile
or tablet

24. Print
can be consulted
in the Library
(only postgrads
and staff can
borrow journals)

25. Print
articles can be
photocopied or
scanned

26. What are the elements
of a journal?

27. We’ve already mentioned the word issue
a couple of times...

28. We’ve already mentioned the word issue
a couple of times...
database?
journal
volume
issue
article

29. Volume
Most journals will have a
volume number that covers all
the parts published in one year
Vol. 86, 2013
Vol. 87, 2014

30. Issue
The part of a journal that is
published weekly, monthly,
and so on, is called an issue
and will also be numbered
Vol. 86 (3), 2013
Vol. 86 (4), 2013

31. Pages
Page numbering often
continues across all the issues
published in one year,
so you can see some pretty
high page numbers

32. What does a reference
to a journal article
look like?

33. Article references
In a bibliography or reading list
you may come across
something like this:

34. Article references
Brown, Jason L., “Neotropical
poison frogs: evolution’s guide
to parenting, fashion and
communication in a dynamic
world”, Evolutionary
Ecology, 27 (4), July 2013, 655–
659

35. Article references
Brown, Jason L., “Neotropical
poison frogs: evolution’s guide
to parenting, fashion and
communication in a dynamic
world”, Evolutionary
Ecology, 27 (4), July 2013, 655–
659
= author

36. Article references
Brown, Jason L., “Neotropical
poison frogs: evolution’s guide
to parenting, fashion and
communication in a dynamic
world”, Evolutionary
Ecology, 27 (4), July 2013, 655–
659
= article title

37. Article references
Brown, Jason L., “Neotropical
poison frogs: evolution’s guide
to parenting, fashion and
communication in a dynamic
world”, Evolutionary
Ecology, 27 (4), July 2013, 655–
659
= journal title

38. Article references
Brown, Jason L., “Neotropical
poison frogs: evolution’s guide
to parenting, fashion and
communication in a dynamic
world”, Evolutionary
Ecology, 27 (4), July 2013, 655–
659
= volume and issue

39. Article references
Brown, Jason L., “Neotropical
poison frogs: evolution’s guide
to parenting, fashion and
communication in a dynamic
world”, Evolutionary Ecology,
27 (4), July 2013, 655–659
= publication date

40. Article references
Brown, Jason L., “Neotropical
poison frogs: evolution’s guide
to parenting, fashion and
communication in a dynamic
world”, Evolutionary
Ecology, 27 (4), July 2013, 655–
659
= pages

41. Article references
Here’s the same article when
you look it up in the database
Web of Science, where the
components are a lot clearer

42. Are some journals
better than others?

43. Academic journals
contain articles that have been
written by academics for an
audience of other scholars
such articles are often
peer-reviewed, ie quality
checked by other academics

44. This means you can be sure
the information in
academic journals is
of high quality

45. Is that why I shouldn’t
just use Google?

46. Yes.

47. Google vs Library content
A web search may turn up the
occasional good quality article
that you can freely download
but most important academic
journals are only available via
subscription by your Library

48. Google vs Library content
That means the Library
website and catalogue are
your surest way to high quality,
peer-reviewed journal articles
www.kent.ac.uk/library/resources
catalogue.kent.ac.uk

49. How do I find good
journal articles for my
assignment?

50. Databases
Whatever you are
studying, there will be
key databases of
journal articles for
you to search

51. Databases
Your Library subject
guide recommends
the best databases to
get started
www.kent.ac.uk/library/subjects

52. Need help?

53. Just ask!

54. Visit the Templeman Library
IT & Library Support Desk
or email
library-enquiry@kent.ac.uk

55. The Academic Liaison Team
will be happy to help if you need
more specialised support
www.kent.ac.uk/library/als

56. Image credits
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dejeuxx/6391424067/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/archer10/4312413546/
flipped and edited
Creative Commons license:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en_GB
Other photos: taken in the Templeman Library
Screenshots: from University of Kent subscribed e-resources

57. Let us know if this was useful!
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Facebook UKC Library and IT
www.kent.ac.uk/is/feedback