Introduction
You can find popular magazine articles in Academic Search Complete as well as scholarly, peer-reviewed research articles. After you've conducted your search, limit your results to magazines and newspapers under Source Types.
For more newspaper article content, see the links toward the bottom of this page for the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.
Evaluate Your Sources
Knowing how to find relevant, reliable, and accurate information can help you create better research assignments. These same skills will help you make informed decisions about real world questions, too, such as buying a car or evaluating financial aid options. Use the criteria below (also known as the CRAAP Test) to help you evaluate the information you find.
Currency: The timeliness of the information.
- When was the information published?
- Has the information been revised or updated?
Relevance: The importance of the information for your needs.
- Is there information in the source that is strongly related to your topic?
- Have you looked at a variety of sources before determining this is one you will use
Authority: The source of the information.
- Who is the author? Is the author qualified to write on the topic?
- What makes this person knowledgeable on this topic?
- What are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations?
Accuracy: The reliability, truthfulness and correctness of the content.
- Is the information supported by evidence?
- Are sources documented with footnotes or bibliography?
- Has the information been reviewed or refereed?
- Can you find some of the same information given elsewhere?
Purpose: The reason the information exists.
- The purpose, intent and audience should be clearly stated.
- Are arguments supported by facts? Are other viewpoints recognized?
- There should be no broad generalizations that are not supported by evidence.
Adapted from Evaluating Information – Applying the CRAAP Test, Meriam Library, California State University, Chico. http://www.csuchico.edu/lins/handouts/eval_websites.pdf
New York Times
Interested in accessing the New York Times online? UK provides access to students, faculty, and staff. Sign up below with the first link, and use the second link to access it after registering.
- New York Times Digital Edition (New Users)
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You must register for an account through this link. Once you register, you have access to the New York Times website through the University of Kentucky. - New York Times Digital Edition (Registered Users)
- This link opens in a new window
Once you have registered for an account through the new user link, you have an basic digital access subscription to the New York Times through the University of Kentucky. This subscription includes unlimited access on NYTimes.com, archives (dating back to 1851) (5 PDF article downloads from Times Machine per user per day); augmented reality/virtual reality (found in the App), daily 360 content, podcasts, all multimedia, newsletters, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese versions of NYTimes.com, and unlimited access to The New York Times in Education website and The Learning Network.
Wall Street Journal
Interested in accessing the Wall Street Journal online? UK provides access to students, faculty, and staff. Sign up below and use the link for access.
- Wall Street Journal (Digital Edition)
- This link opens in a new window
UK Libraries and the Student Government Association (SGA) have partnered with the Wall Street Journal to provide school-sponsored memberships to all students, faculty and staff. Through the partnership, members have full digital access to WSJ.com and through the app. Additionally, curated career content can be found at students.wsj.com. Activate your membership through this link.
Popular or Scholarly?
This is a quick quiz on the typical characteristics of scholarly and popular articles that takes approximately 3-5 minutes.
