Periodicals are current and back issues of journals, magazines, newspapers, microforms, and indexes. The ODU Library's Periodicals Collection, primarily located on the , is arranged alphabetically by title, and each title is arranged chronologically by volume or year starting with the earliest.
The library has access to 10,000+ electronic periodicals and many of our print subscriptions include electronic access as well. To find an electronic periodical, you can search by title in the ODU Library Catalog.
Find a journal online and link to the full text of articles through selected OhioLINK, EBSCOhost, or LexisNexis online research databases.
In the EJC, you can search for full-text articles or browse journals by title or subject.
Use this information to determine if an article is from a scholarly or popular journal.
| Bibliographies, footnotes, or other references are always included |
None |
| Experts, scholars, and researchers; always named along with their institutional affiliation |
Staffwriters, generalists; may be anonymous |
| Articles may be peer-reviewed or refereed. See below* |
Articles are not peer-reviewed |
| Usually, a university or an association |
Commercial Firm |
| Long research articles with abstracts, tables, graphs, charts, and summariesScholarly readers, such as professors, researchers, students |
Short 1-2 pages, non-technical articles with photos and graphs |
| Scholarly readers, such as professors, researchers, students |
General readers |
| Formal, scholarly |
Informal, written to entertain and inform general audience |
| Journal titles may include terms such as “review,” “bulletin,” or “journal.” |
Magazine titles lack such “designating” terms |
| Plain |
Colorful, illustrated |
| Issues tend to be published less often (monthly, quarterly, semi-annually) |
Issues tend to be published more frequently (daily, weekly, monthly) |
| Issues tend to be successively numbered |
Each issue tends to begin with page 1 |
| No ads or ads for books or other scholarly tools |
Ads for business or consumer products |
| Illustrations support text |
Often illustrated for marketing appeal |
| Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Modern Fiction Studies, JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association |
Psychology Today, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated |
* Peer-reviewed indicates that the article was submitted to a panel of scholars/experts within the field and critiqued for accuracy and content prior to its approval for publication.
(Chart adapted and compiled from the in Northfield, Minnesota February 7, 2003.)