Computer Science Library Guide

What is a journal?

A journal is like an academic magazine where scholars have written articles about their research. Essentially, a journal is a collection of articles.

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.

What is a  database?

A databases collects, organises and indexes information from journals, books, book chapters, theses and dissertations, magazines, newspapers and other sources.  UCT Libraries subscribe to many databases covering a wide range of subject areas.

You can search a database by typing in keywords that describe your topic.  The database will provide you with information about journal articles and other materials on the topic, and most will link you to full text articles in our electronic journals.