Linguistics Library Guide: Finding journal articles

What is a journal?

A journal is like an academic magazine where scholars have written articles about their research.

What is the difference between a book and a journal article?

A book is a longer, and a usually more comprehensive text on a subject.

Journal articles are shorter, and more specific. They are published more frequently and so have more up-to-date information than books do.

Why use journals?

• They are usually more up to date than books.
• As most of them have been checked by other academics (i.e. peer reviewed), they are more reliable than general web articles and newspaper articles.
• They are shorter to read than books.

One way to find journal articles is by using databases.

         The recommended databases are:

• EbscoHost
  • Africa-Wide Information
  • Academic Search Premier
  • Communication and Mass Media Complete
  • Humanities International Complete
  • PsycInfo
  • SocIndex with Full Text
• Google Scholar
• JStor
• MLA International Bibliography
• Project Muse
• Oxford Journals Online
• ScienceDirect
• SA ePublications
• Taylor & Francis
• Web of Science 
  • Arts & Humanities Citation Index
  • Social Sciences Citation Index

If you would like to explore other databases, click here to see the full A-Z list of  the databases available via UCT Libraries.

...are the print journals?

• Those newer than 1965 are in the basement (down the spiral stairs);
• Older than 1965 are kept off-campus, ask for them at the Loans Desk.

Undergraduates are unfortunately not allowed to take print journals out on loan. You may use the journal in the library for as long as you like, and the library does offer photocopying facilities.

This slide show demonstrates how to find a specific journal article in UCT Libraries.

Click here to go directly to the Journal Portal.