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EDF 362: Foundations of Education I

This guide was originally created by Dana Hettich.

The Basics

Need to find something now?  Wrapping your mind around the media landscape of production, publication, and access, can help you find what you need when you need it.  Besides, you've already been practicing.

What is a Journal?

  • mode of publication
  • usually centered around a subject/discipline
  • released predictably though out the year (e.g. quarterly)
  • frequently assembled by non-profit or professional organizations (e.g. the American Medical Association, Oxford University Press,  Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action )

Its organization and management looks very much like how media companies and content creators develop and release shows.  So you could think about Journals this way. 

Journal "Television" Example
Article Scene Buffy fights Glory
Journal Issue Episode The Gift
Journal Show Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Database Channel (Producer) WB (Mutant Enemy Productions)
Provider Streaming Service HULU

What is a Book?

  • mode of publication
  • usually centered around a single subject/story
  • released when the writing/editing is finally finished (aaaaand when the publisher thinks it would sell best)
  • can be assembled by traditional publishing houses, non-profits, professional organizations, and your Tante Yvonne if she is self-publishing on Amazon. 

Its organization, management, and structure look very much like how writers, production companies, and directors manage a movie.  So you could think about it like this.

Book Example Movie Example
Book Chapter Bear and Bone Scene Thanos kills Loki
Book (Title in Series*) The Wastelands Title Infinity Wars
Book (Series Name) The Dark Tower Series Avengers
Database Penguin Group Channel (Producer) Marvel Studios/Disney**
Provider Project Gutenberg Streaming Service Disney +

Things to Note

**There can frequently be overlap between who is producing and who is providing.  So Disney essentially made and provided access to Infinity Wars.  Amazon and Netfilx have done the same with both long length and short length media.  This can also happen in the print world.  Cambridge University Press supports the publication of Bilingualism: Language and Cognition  but controls the access so you can only get it by purchasing access to the individual title or by proprietary collections.  You will not see it in Academic OneFile. 

*Not every book is part of series nor is every movie.  But knowing the information about the series can help you find the individual titles. 

(Also, not every show is dropped episodically.  Some are dropped all at once.  This begs the question, are they truly "shows" in the traditional sense or simply movies with planned potty breaks?  But that is a discussion for a different day.)