What are academic journals?

Although many undergraduate students will use textbooks for their main sources, post-graduate students are normally expected to read articles in relevant academic journals. Thousands of journals are published covering every academic discipline, mostly in English. Although hard copies, as in the picture, are often printed, journals are normally accessed in electronic form, for example through a university library.

Usually four editions of each journal are published annually, and it is possible to search academic databases for articles relevant to your research. In addition journal websites often let you search their back issues. It is normally sufficient to read the abstract to find out if an article will be useful for you.

There are two important advantages to using journal articles. Firstly, all such articles are peer-reviewed, which means that before they are accepted they are critically read by other experts in that field, who may suggest changes or improvements. The second benefit is that they are more specialised and up-to-date than material found in text books, which take longer to publish.