Research Log 2: Finding Popular Periodicals (Contributed by G. Hlavaty & M. Townsend)

Name:

Section and Professor’s Name:

Your individual topic:

For this exercise, you’ll browse the Belk Library popular periodical holdings, find one popular periodical that is closely related to your topic, and evaluate its rhetorical elements and content.

1. Jot down some keywords that relate to your topic. Focus in on a few keywords that might appear in a popular magazine’s title. For example, if your topic is Social Networking, you might look for Technology to be in the title.
2. Take your keyword list with you to the periodical section of the library and browse the popular stacks. Retrieve one popular publication that relates to your topic.
3. Read or carefully skim the article that relates to your topic. Would this article be most appropriate for scholars or the general public or some other audience?  Explain your answer based on the presence of research, the formality of the tone, and/or biased perspectives.

Tags: finding sources, teaching source use