Finding Journal Articles
To find articles, the best place to begin is with one of the “periodical index” databases in the Library. The databases that are most useful for finding articles in economics include:
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This link opens in a new windowBusiness Source Complete is a comprehensive database that ranges across an enormous variety of subject areas: accounting, banking, finance, management, marketing, trade, and of course, economics. It offers an unprecedented wealth of peer-reviewed, full-text journals and other resources that provide historical information and current trends in business that spark discussion on future developments and changes in the business world.
BSC also indexes company profiles, country reports, industry reports, SWOT Analyses, trade journals and magazines.
This link opens in a new windowJSTOR – Journal Storage – is another of the licensed databases accessible through the TWU Library. Like Academic Search Premier, it is a multi-disciplinary database that accesses 1500 full-text journals.
Try using the “Advanced Search” option so that you can limit your searches by the “Narrow by Discipline” check-boxes (best choice might be “Economics”, but also try disciplines such as “Business”, “Business & Economics”, “Development Studies”, “International Relations”, and even some of the area studies headings: “African Studies”, “British Studies”, and “Middle East Studies”).
This link opens in a new windowSage Premier is an multidisciplinary full-text database containing about 700 journal titles. Included in those 700 titles you will find Economics titles such as:
The “Browse” tab (“Journals by Discipline”) on the search page will let you see all the economics titles. Click on the “+” box of “Social Sciences & Humanities” > “Economics & Development” for the full display. Depending on your research topic, other disciplines might also be useful: “Law”, “Management & Organization Studies”, or “Public Administration”.
When you use Sage Premier go to the “Advanced search” screen. Enter your search terms, and in the drop-down menus choose “Full Text”. Use names or technical language to bring focus and specificity to your search (e.g. “John Maynard Keynes” or “Harrod–Domar growth model”).
This link opens in a new windowWiley Online Library is a multidisciplinary database containing about 1300 journal titles. Most journal titles come in full-text – an access icon indicates availability.
From the "Browse by Subject" page choose "Business" and the subheading "Economics". Search from within that subset of the database.
Even though this is a "science" database you will find articles on economics here.
In the "Search for" data entry bar enter focused and technical words or names. In the drop-down box to the right choose a limiter - "Abstract", or "Keywords", or "Full Text". In the second drop-down menu of subjects (below) choose "Business", or "Economics", or both.
Journal articles treat specific and narrow topics, they’re much briefer than books, and are published in a “journal” along with other articles.
Before an article is published it goes through a quality control process called ‘peer review’.
Most journal articles present original research and analysis, so they are called research articles, or primary research articles. A different kind of article is the review article, which summarizes and synthesizes work that has already been done in the field. Review articles are a good place to find a summary of a topic.
See this short video from North Carolina State University on the journey of an article from a scholar’s research to a database in the library: From Idea to Library.
The CARS Checklist for Research Source Evaluation from Robert Harris, Evaluating Internet Research Sources
When using a research source consider the following criteria:
| Credibility | trustworthy source, author's credentials, evidence of quality control, known or respected authority, organizational support. Goal: an authoritative source, a source that supplies some good evidence that allows you to trust it. |
| Accuracy | up to date, factual, detailed, exact, comprehensive, audience and purpose reflect intentions of completeness and accuracy. Goal: a source that is correct today (not yesterday), a source that gives the whole truth. |
| Reasonableness | fair, balanced, objective, reasoned, no conflict of interest, absence of fallacies or slanted tone. Goal: a source that engages the subject thoughtfully and reasonably, concerned with the truth. |
| Support | listed sources, contact information, available corroboration, claims supported, documentation supplied. Goal: a source that provides convincing evidence for the claims made, a source you can triangulate (find at least two other sources that support it). |
If you need help, please Ask a Librarian.
Image courtesy of Openclipart (Public Domain)
The library has several video tutorials to help answer questions like:
News magazines cover the same current events that newspapers do, but in greater depth and with more insightful coverage.
A newspaper tells us a bomb blew up in an Ahmedabad train station killing 28 people. A news magazine reflects on the social, political, cultural, or religious causes and effects of that event.
Reputable news magazines offer useful points of view on current events, but they should not be mistaken for academic journals.
Time Magazine cover from October 12, 1931 Cover credit: Keystone Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain
L’Actualite (French Canada)
The Atlantic (US)
Commentary (US)
The Economist (UK)
Euromoney (UK)
Foreign Affairs (US international relations & foreign policy)
Foreign Policy (US)
Frontline (India)
International Economy Magazine (US)
Maclean’s (Canada)
The New Statesman (UK)
The New Times (Russia) (right-click for English translation)
The New Yorker (US)
Newswatch (Nigeria)
Newsweek (US)
Le Nouvel Observateur (France)
Der Spiegel (Germany)
Time (US)
Some content is available online, but you will be asked to subscribe for full access.
Archived content / back issues may or may not be available.
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Trinity Western University's Langley campus is located on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of the Stó:lō people. We are grateful for the opportunity to live, work, and learn on this land.
