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HUMANITIES CORE COURSE

Discovery Task 4: Use Periodical Indexes To Find Information From and About Journal Articles

 

HINT:  Read all the instructions, including the worksheets, before you start the assignment.

 

PROBLEM:     This Discovery Task asks you to look at information about journal articles from two different electronic periodical indexes (sometimes referred to as databases) and to compare the information found in each of them.  You will look for articles about the Spanish American War to make observations about the kind of information you find in each of the indexes.

 

                        The databases that you will use are the:

·        America: History and Life

·        MLA International Bibliography

 

OBJECTIVES:

·        Learn what a periodical index or abstract is.

·        Learn to use two subject specific periodical indexes, America: History and Life and the MLA International Bibliography to find citations to articles, book chapters, books and dissertations on  the Spanish American War.

·        Learn what clues to the content (subject) of an article are available through electronic periodical indexes.

 

INSTRUCTIONS TO STUDENTS

The learning objective of this Discover Task is to introduce you to two subject specific electronic periodical indexes, America: History and Life and the MLA International Bibliography.  You will look up information about imperialism, anti-imperialism and the Spanish American War in each of these databases and compare the information you find.  This assignment does not require you to come into the Library.  You can access these files from any computer on campus or from home.

 

 

Read ALL the instructions before you begin the assignment.

 

DEFINITIONS:

 

PERIODICAL:  A periodical is a publication such as a magazine, newspaper or journal that has a distinctive title, is intended to appear at regular intervals (e.g. daily, weekly, monthly, annually) and has different content in each issue.  Examples of periodicals are Sports Illustrated, Los Angeles Times, or Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature.  Periodicals are available in print, on microfilm and microfiche and electronically. 

 

PERIODICAL

INDEX:           A periodical index is a library reference tool which helps you find information on a topic in a newspaper, magazine or scholarly journal. A periodical index in an electronic format is often referred to as a database.  Examples of periodical indexes are the Expanded Academic ASAP (InfoTrac) database, America: History and Life, and the MLA International Bibliography.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHIC

CITATION:     Citations, in the research world, have nothing to do with traffic tickets. Instead, citations identify published information - print or electronic - in order to locate that item again. Citations for articles usually include the 1) author's name, 2) title of the article, 3) name of the journal or magazine, 4) volume number, 5) issue number, 6) date of the journal or magazine issue, and 7) pages where the article appeared.  Citations of Web documents also include a URL and the day the information was accessed.

 

                        The list of the sources you used when researching your paper is a bibliography. The bibliography allows others who read your work to verify facts or research the same information more easily. These sources are listed in citation format and follow an established style, such as MLA (Modern Language Association), APA (American Psychological Association) or Chicago Manual of Style.

 

There are a few things that you should know before you begin your discovery task. 

 

1.  Periodical indexes are finding tools.  They help you to locate information in journals and magazines, but they may not include the full text of the articles.

2.  You already know that there are different ways to use computers to perform the same tasks.  This assignment is going to give you one set of instructions on how to access and use these two databases.  You may find other ways that make more sense or seem easier to you.

 

To begin your task:

The first periodical index you are going to look at is America: History and Life.  Here is one way to access this database.

1.   Start from the UCI Libraries Homepage (http://www.lib.uci.edu/ )

2.  Click on Article Databases

3.  Click on the letter A and scroll down until you see America: History and Life and click on the link.

4.  Read the information given About the Database and use it to answer the questions about the database.

 

America: History and Life

Historical coverage of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present

America: History and Life is a complete bibliographic reference to the history of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. Published since 1964, the database comprises over 490,000 bibliographic entries for periodicals dating back to 1954, providing an incomparable research tool for students and researchers of US and Canadian history.
This extensive database covers over 2,000 journals published worldwide. In addition to covering all key English-language historical journals, America: History and Life coverage includes selected historical journals from major countries, state and local history journals, and a targeted selection of hundreds of journals in the social sciences and humanities. Over 90% of the articles included are published in English-language journals. In addition to articles, each year America: History and Life includes approximately 6,000 citations of book and media reviews from a selection of over one hundred key journals in US and Canadian history and related fields. The database also includes citations to abstracts of dissertations published in these areas.

 

·        What kinds of materials are covered by America: History and Life?

 

·        What topics does America: History and Life cover?

 

·        Why are you using America: History and Life to find information about imperialism, anti-imperialism and the Spanish American War?

 

 

5. When you have answered the questions, enter the phrase Spanish American War in the Subject Search box.

 

 

6. Scroll through the list of entries and try to answer these questions.

·        How many citations did your search find?

 

 

·        What topics do these citations cover?

 

 

·        What are the titles of some of the journals that are indexed?

 

7.  In some cases, America: History and Life will link you to electronic copies of journal articles.  Write the title of one article that is available electronically.

 

8. Choose a citation that looks like it might help you understand more about the Spanish American War and fill out the information requested below. Which of these pieces of information are required for the bibliographic citation?

Article Author:
Article Title:
Name of Journal:
Volume Number:
Issue Number:
Date of Issue:
Page Numbers:

 

 

Now you are going to look at the MLA International Bibliography.

 

Follow these instructions to access the MLA.

1.  Return to the UCI Libraries' Homepage by entering the URL: http://www.lib.uci.edu/

2.  Click on Article Databases.

3.  Click on the letter "M" and scroll down to the link for the MLA Bibliography (via Ovid).

4. Use the information in the following paragraph to answer the questions.

Produced by the Modern Language Association of America, the MLA International Bibliography indexes critical scholarship on literature, language, linguistics and folklore. Coverage includes journal articles, series, monographs, dissertations, bibliographies, proceedings and other materials. The database includes all records indexed from 1963 to the present, approximately 1,400,000 records.

 

·        What kinds of materials (books, journal articles, dissertations, etc.) are included in the MLA?

 

 

 

·        What topics does the MLA cover?

 

 

 

 

5. When you have answered the questions, enter the phrase “Spanish American War" in the keyword search box.

 

6.  Limit your search to journal articles and English language.

 

7.  Select the Perform search button to begin your search.

 

 

 

8. Click on Display and try to answer these questions.

·        How many citations did your search find?

 

·        What topics do these citations cover?

 

 

·        What are the titles of some of the journals that are indexed?

 

 

 

Find a reference to an article that you think will help you to understand more about the Spanish American War and fill out the information requested below.  Which pieces of information are required for the bibliographic citation?

Article Author:
Article Title:
Name of Journal:
Volume Number:
Issue Number:
Date of Issue:
Page Numbers:

 

 

9.  Finally, write one or two short paragraphs that compare and contrast the America: History and Life and MLA International Bibliography periodical indexes.  Summarize what you discovered about each index and highlight the differences and similarities between these two finding tools.