A good source for current information on a topic is a periodical. Periodicals are publications that are published on a regular, recurring basis, e.g. daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly. In other words, periodicals refers to anything that is published at specific intervals of time. Periodicals include newspapers, magazines, and journals.
Periodicals are especially important for topics that are dynamic and marked by rapid change. If you are doing research on a topic in science or technology you should consult periodicals to find the latest information. New information in these fields is being created and recreated constantly. The information you find in books may be valuable, but outdated, especially if your topic covers a political or foreign policy issue, business or economic development, scientific endeavor, medical discovery, or technological advancement.
Newspapers are a type of periodical generally published on a daily or weekly basis. They are your especially useful sources for up-to-date information about people, places, or events that happened in Hawaii.
Some newspapers in the library are Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Pacific Business News, and USA-Today.
Magazines are a type of periodical published on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis. They provide analyses of recent events and may included more detailed discussions than newspapers. They often contain colorful and striking photos, illustrations, and advertisements on the front cover and throughout the publication. Magazine articles cover topics ranging from current events, politics, and popular culture and are written in language appropriate for the general reader.
A few examples of magazines in the library are Time, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, and Honolulu.
Journals include scholarly research articles, papers, and reports. Journals are written for scholars, professionals, and upper-level students and may be more difficult to read for an undergraduate or someone just entering into a
field. A primary characteristic of journals, particularly scientific and technology journals, is that the articles are peer-reviewed. That means the articles go through a review process before they are published. The reviewers are usually other experts in the same field as the writer. Please see this overview of Journal Characteristics to learn more about scholarly journals.
Some examples of journals in the library are Contemporary Pacific, Hawaiian Journal of History, and Science.
The library subscribes to research databases with access to full text articles from thousands of newspapers, magazines, and journals.
Recommended databases to search include CQ Researcher, ProQuest Newspapers, and EBSCOhost Academic Search Premier.
Use your keywords to search for articles on your topic. It might take several searches using different keywords and keyword combinations before your search finds relevant articles.
Learn more about our databases by clicking the Articles tab under Find.
