Magazines and journals are called periodicals because they are issued on a regular or "periodic" basis – they might arrive daily, weekly, monthly, four times a year (quarterly), once a year (annually) or anything in between. Periodicals are usually separated into two major groups: popular and scholarly.

 Use popular magazines when you need:

• information or opinions about popular culture
• up-to-date information about current events
• general articles by people who are not necessarily specialists about the topic

Use scholarly journals (also called academic or scientific journals) when you need:

• original, primary research on a specific topic
• articles and essays written by scholars or subject experts
• factual, documented information to reinforce a position
• bibliographies that point you to other relevant research  

Use a newspaper to:

• find current information about international, national and local events
• find editorials, commentaries, expert or popular opinions

Databases by Subject  |  Databases A to Z

To access the databases, click one of the links above. If you know the name of the database you would like to use, choose Databases A to Z. If you are unsure of what database to use for your research, click Databases by Subject and then narrow down your choices by the subject your research falls under.

A database in general is a collection of information organized to be searched by computer. On the STCC Library Web site, our electronic databases are collections of articles or in-depth reports that you can retrieve through your Internet connection.

The library has subscriptions to both general databases (example: EbscoHost Academic Search Premier) or subject specific databases (example, U.S. History in Context). These databases usually provide full-text access to journal articles. If you want to be sure to retrieve only full-text articles, be sure to click on the "full-text" option on your search screen.

Video courtesy of Yavapai College.