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COMM 3302: Rhetorical Research Methods: Scholarly Article or Not?

A course guide to library research resources for Prof. Fox's students in Rhetorical Criticism

Periodical List

Periodical List

You can search for a specific journal/magazine/newspaper using Periodical List.

Google Scholar Search

Search for library subscribed scholarly articles

Google Scholar Search

Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

Log in to ILLiad to make an Interlibrary Loan request

Interlibrary Loan is a Library lending service available to current TxState students and employees. ILL borrows items from other libraries that the Alkek Library does not own.

This service is free to Texas State students, faculty, and staff. Typical turnaround for a book is 2 weeks.  Turnaround time for articles varies depending on format (hard copy or electronic) but averages 2 to 3 days.

Types of Periodicals

What's a periodical?

A periodical is a magazine, journal, newspaper, or similar item that comes out periodically, i.e. once a week, month, etc.

It's good to be able to distinguish between scholarly and non-scholarly periodicals, especially for more advanced research. See the Scholarly Journals guide for more info.

Popular art magazine

Magazines

  • Intended for mass market and general public
  • Includes Magazines, trade journals, newspapers and other non-scholarly sources
  • No "Peer Review" process required for publication
  • Often presents general information

Scholarly Journals

  • Scholarly journals are also referred to as "Peer Reviewed" or "Refereed."
  • These are mostly journals (but can be in other formats)
  • Are intended for researchers or scholars in their intended fields.
  • Articles must be reviewed by panel of experts before publishing (aka "Peer Review")
  • Often present original research

Check publication titles in Ulrich's

If you have a journal and you need to check if it is peer reviewed, use the Ulrich's Periodical Directory database.


Enter the name of the journal in the search bar, then look for the little referee's jersey icon or the line that says "Refereed: Yes." "Refereed" is just another way of saying "peer reviewed," so if you see either or both of those things, your journal is peer reviewed.

If you don't see the icon or if the description of the journal says "Refereed: No," that journal is not peer reviewed.

Subject Guide

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