Be sure you understand the requirements for your assignment. You may be required to use a book or a journal article. Don't lose points by referring to a source which is forbidden! (No Wikipedia, no encyclopedias, no About.com)
If it is a group project, share contact information and communicate so that you are clear on who is doing what. Most of the library research tools allow you to email copies of articles and citations, so keep your contact list close.
All research demands that you keep track of your sources. Whatever articles, books, or images you use for information or as an illustration MUST be cited. Ask for help if you don't know how to work with the source information.
"Magazine" is often used to describe a popular publication like Time or People.
“Journal” is used to describe a scholarly work that is written by experts. Journal articles tend to be longer and provide extensive citations to additional research.
REVIEW ARTICLES should not be confused with "articles from a peer-reviewed journal."
Review articles are written by one or more authors and attempt to summarize the state of research on a specific topic. The authors try to find everything relevant on a topic and organize it into a coherent article presenting the "state of the art" on the topic.
REVIEW ARTICLES help the reader to "get-up-to-speed" on a specific research topic. Research articles (primary sources) are very narrow and report on a specific experiment or investigation but REVIEW ARTICLES will give you a broad introduction to the topic. You will find out :
Basic Rules for Searching for "Review articles"
In an article database, search for the keywords "review article" in addition to your topic keywords.
Example: Ebola and "review article"
Some databases have "Review Articles" coded as a separate facet. For example,
Profs. Edith Sirianni and Lynn Schott both contributed to the content of this guide. Professor Sirianni retired from Bergen in 2018.