Journal Articles
Primary or Secondary Sources?
Generally journal articles are secondary sources. The authors of articles analyze, discuss, theorize and draw conclusions. However on some occasions they could be classified as primary sources. For instance if you are researching the life and work of a particular author, or the history of a particular journal.
Journal articles are important sources that are usually concise, specific, current and authoritative (and often interesting!)
Many journals are refereed, which means that articles are only accepted for publication after being reviewed by editors and scholars. These tend to be the more scholarly journals.
The University of Melbourne Library holds a very large collection of journals covering all subject disciplines, a huge volume of material.
Indexing and Abstracting Services
Indexing and Abstracting services can provide you with details on a large number of relevant sources in a short period of time. They range from large multidisciplinary international indexes to relatively small, subject focused, single country indexes.
Depending on the topic being researched, a specific index may cover all your needs, but it is often worthwhile to search in more than one.
Three of the most useful journal indexes are Historical Abstracts, Humanities Index and Current Contents. They are available electronically and are international in scope.
Historical Abstracts, covering world history from 1450 to the present, is generally the best starting point when beginning a search for jounal articles on a topic. It also provides indexing for book reviews and theses.
How do you know which index to use?
Choosing the appropriate index/es is the key to a successful search.
To see a selection of the numerous indexing services that are available, click here.
Subject Resources@Library
Buddy is the name of the University of Melbourne's web based system which provides access to a broad range of electronic and print resources, ranging from reference materials to Indexing services, such as Humanities Index, and full text journals.
Subject Resources @Library is accessible via any internet workstation. Simply go to the web address:
http://dozer.infodiv.unimelb.edu.au/SuRe/subject.php
Most of the electronic resources on Subject Resources @Library are networked and can be used off-campus. However some resources are on standalone CD-ROMS and must be used in the Library.
