Journal articles are written by scholars in an academic or professional field. An editorial board reviews articles to decide whether they should be published. Journal articles may cover very specific topics or narrow fields of research.

Since journals are published at periodic intervals, they are grouped in the category called "periodicals." They may be in print format or on the Web as electronic journals. Your library purchases subscriptions to many journals.

• when doing scholarly research
• to find out what has been studied on your topic
• to find bibliographies that point to other relevant research

Examples of Journals

• Journal of Communication
• The Historian
• Journal of Business Research
• Lancet