Evidence-Based Practice: EBP Publications

Journals  are a type of periodical.

Periodicals are publications that are published periodically, that is, daily, weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, etc. These include magazines, newspapers, journals, and, more rarely, a few book series. Periodicals are sometimes referred to as serials.

The latest research is published in journals. Many journal articles cover specific, advanced topics. It can be difficult to find simple, basic information in journals. Nowadays, most journals have a web site that allows viewing of the table of contents and summaries of articles.

Journals are very important to the sciences. Most new research is published in a peer-reviewed journal rather than in a book. The peer review process adds credibility to the research as papers have been reviewed and approved by experts in the field. This does not eliminate all distribution of false theories or bad research but it helps to cull the herd.

In contrast, scholars in the humanities may publish their research in either a journal or a book.

To search for periodicals, you can find a periodical on the library shelves and browse the issues. However, it is easier to search a database containing information about the articles in your periodical.

Databases are very useful and efficient for searching through journals. Sometimes they include books and other sources. Every database follows different rules for searching and storage. Effective use depends on knowing those rules. Commercial databases commonly provide only summaries of articles and do not include full text. They can be very expensive.

 Some journals specifically focus on providing evidence-based information. Some of these are NOT full-text subscriptions of Indiana State University. Please check the print catalog or use Interlibrary Loan to obtain those articles in full-text.