ENGL 235: Technical Writing : Articles
Why use articles in Technical Writing?
In your Technical Writing course, you may be tasked with researching potential strategies for addressing community, or organizational, issues or problems. Therefore, it's useful to know how to research case studies or reports about social or business problems and problem-solving strategies.
Articles from periodicals (journals, magazines, newspapers, trade journals, newsletters) will usually provide you with more up-to-date information than books. Additionally, articles that contain citations or references can lead you to other sources, such as government or industry web sites, where you may be able to obtain even more current information.
- Complete List of TCC Library Research DatabasesClick here to view all of the research databases available at your TCC Library
Search for articles in library databases
- Social Work Reference Center This link opens in a new window
Covers a wide array of topics, such as adolescent health, aging, end-of-life care, clinical social work and diversity. - Vocational and Career Collection This link opens in a new window
(Ebsco) Trade and industry-related periodicals - Military and Government Collection This link opens in a new window
(Ebsco) Provides scholarly literature and current news applicable to all branches of the United States military and the government. - Gartner This link opens in a new window
Outstanding resource for researching IT in business. Gartner reports provide forecasts for companies, industries, and specific technologies. (You will need to log in with your TCC email and your Portal password.) - ScienceDirect This link opens in a new window
A full-text database offering journal articles and book chapters from more than 2,500 peer-reviewed journals and 11,000 books, including reference works. (Tip: After searching for your topic, choose the "Refine by subscribed journals" feature on the results page to view the items you can access free of charge because you are a TCC student.) - Exchange This link opens in a new window
Provides access to over 3,000 practical articles written by the top experts in the field of early childhood education. - Business Insights (Gale) This link opens in a new window
International business intelligence, industry profiles, SWOT analyses, market share reports, financial reports, company histories, industry essays, case studies, scholarly journals, and business news. - CINAHL with Full Text This link opens in a new window
(Ebsco) The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health with Full Text provides access to over 600 journals from the fields of nursing and allied health.
- CQ Researcher This link opens in a new window
These weekly reports provide thoughtfully written analyses of social, economic and political issues. Good for gathering background information on your identified issue.
- ProQuest Periodical Databases This link opens in a new window
Multiple periodical databases providing coverage of a wide range of topics, with a mix of popular and scholarly sources. Particularly good for current events. - Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new window
(Ebsco) Periodical database. This multi-disciplinary database covers most disciplines taught at TCC. Most articles are scholarly. - JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Full text of a range of academic journal articles and primary sources. TCC's collection includes: "Archival Journal / Primary Source Collections." Good coverage of history, sociology, anthropology, literature, and economics. All images from Artstor are now on JSTOR!
Scholarly journals vs. trade journals
Scholarly Journals vs. Trade Journals
Two types of resources from which to find good articles for your research are scholarly journals and trade journals.
Scholarly Journals
Also known and referred to as "research journal," "peer-reviewed journal," "refereed journal," and "academic journal." A scholarly journal is generally one that is published by and for experts. In order to be published in a scholarly journal, an article must first go through the peer review process in which a group of widely acknowledged experts in a field reviews it for content, scholarly soundness and academic value.
In most cases, articles in scholarly journals present new, previously un-published research. Scholarly sources will almost always include:
- Bibliography and footnotes
- Author's name and academic credentials
As a general rule, scholarly journals are not printed on glossy paper, do not contain advertisements for popular consumer items and do not have colorful graphics and illustrations (there are, of course, exceptions).
Trade Journals
Trade magazines or journals are written for professionals by professionals in a particular field and are not strictly research-related. They often contain current news, trends, and products in a specific industry as well as practical information for professionals working in the field or industry.
Examples include Professional Engineering, Architectural Record, and PC World.
Below is a video that illustrates these differences in journals:
For more information see the guide below from NCSU:
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