Philosophy 

Articles appear in publications called magazines, journals, periodicals, and newspapers.  Use articles for:

• most recent research on a topic
• coverage of very narrow topics
• coverage of current events
• contemporary accounts of past events and research

IM a Librarian:
AIM: askraynor
Yahoo: askraynor
MSN: askus@marquette.edu
Google: askraynor
ICQ: 385748443

Phone a Librarian:
Call the Information Desk at
414.288-7556

Email a Librarian:
Email the Information Desk at
askus@marquette.edu

Request an Appointment:
Research Consultation

Stop by In-person:
Service Hours

Databases provide a systematic method of searching for articles and other documents on your topic. Some databases include full text of the documents they index, but many do not.  The top databases for philosophy are:

• Philosopher's Index: citations and abstracts of journal articles, books, and other research publications, 1940 to the present. Check out this You Tube video with tips for using Philosopher's Index.

• Philosophy Online (formerly POIESIS): scholarly philosophy journals; many full text articles.

• JSTOR: archive of scholarly journal articles. Check out this 5 minute You Tube video with tips for using JSTOR; for a more detailed (20 min.) tutorial, try this link to a video prepared by JSTOR.

• Periodicals Archive Online: contains the full texts of 350 journals in the humanities and social sciences from their first issues (some dating back 200 years) to 1995.

Quick Search Help

The Libraries subscribe to over 20,000 journals, most of which are available electronically. There are a variety of ways to find out if the Libraries subscribe to the journals you need.

If you already have the citation to an article:

• Use MARQCAT. Search by Title and enter the title of the journal NOT the title or author of the article.

If you are looking at citations from within a database:

• Use the FindIt@MU icon in the citation you are interested in. This will open another window and do one of two things
  • Display a list of databases with links. This indicates the FindIt widget may have found a source for electronic copy of the article. Click on the link to determine if a full text option is located.
  • Display only a link to MARQCAT. Click the MARQCAT link to search the catalog. The journal may be available in print or fulltext through a source not searchable by the FindIt widget.

If you do not find the journal using FindIt@MU or MARQCAT, request the article through Interlibrary Loan. This can be done directly from the article citation within some databases.

Use critical thinking skills when deciding whether an article is appropriate to use. Consider:
Type of Publication: Is it a popular magazine, a trade magazine, or a scholarly journal? (see below)
Purpose: Is the intent to inform, entertain, persuade or educate?
Objectivity: Are various sides or points-of-view represented?
Author: Does the author have expertise on the topic?
Date: Is the information current or timely for your topic?
Bibliography: Are the author's sources of information cited completely.

Types of Periodicals

Periodicals, journals, magazines fall into 'categories' determined by their overall purpose.

Popular: Written for general public; authors and editors usually not experts in subject field; purpose is to provide current, societal/cultural news and discussion.
Trade: Written for individuals in a specific career/job or with a specific interest/hobby. Authors are generally persons working in the field/hobby or journalists with specialized knowledge. Articles discuss current issues but are not reports of research.
Scholarly: Written for, and authored by, researchers, educators, students. Articles are reports of original research or other scholarly discussions.

Plato (428 BC-348 BC)

(Image source)

Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC)

(Image source)