Multisearch may give you an overwhelming number of results. Academic Search Complete is a good alternative. It is a broad database including many formats, from peer-reviewed journals to magazines and newspapers. You can narrow a set of results to only include newspapers and/or magazines. The default will be for you to see results of all types (box below, left). To limit, click on the boxes for the sources types that you want. Once you've made selections, an active maroon "Update" button will appear.
You can also search databases that are specifically for news using our Newspaper and News Database guide.
You may find a source, but not be sure what kind of source it is. Some databases will label sources broadly, such as "periodical" or "article". Check this chart, or ask a librarian for help.
| Popular Magazines | Scholarly (including peer-reviewed) | Trade Publications | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Content |
Current events; general interest articles |
Research results/reports; reviews of research (review articles); book reviews |
Articles about a certain business or industry |
| Purpose | To inform, entertain, or elicit an emotional response | To share research or scholarship with the academic community | To inform about business or industry news, trends, or products |
| Author | Staff writers, journalists, freelancers | Scholars/researchers | Staff writers, business/industry professionals |
| Audience | General public | Scholars, researchers, students | Business/industry professionals |
| Review | Staff editor | Editorial board made up of other scholars and researchers. Some articles are peer-reviewed | Staff editor |
| Citations | May not have citations, or may be informal (ex. according to... or links) | Bibliographies, references, endnotes, footnotes | Few, may or may not have any |
| Frequency | Weekly/monthly | Quarterly or semi-annually | Weekly/monthly |
| Ads | Numerous ads for a variety of products | Minimal, usually only for scholarly products like books | Ads are for products geared toward specific industry |
| Examples | Time; Vogue; Rolling Stone; New Yorker | Journal of Southern History; Developmental Psychology; American Literature; New England Journal of Medicine | Pharmacy Times; Oil and Gas Investor Magazine |
Table source: UT Libraries
