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Popular Magazines

General Information

Periodicals aimed at a general or nonprofessional audience. Published frequently (usually weekly or biweekly), they cover everything from news and entertainment (Time, Rolling Stone), to amateur science (Sky & Telescope), to recreation and hobbies (Runner's World, Popular Mechanics).

Strengths:

• Source for background on significant events, including names, dates, interviews, photographs
• Popular perspectives on the social impacts of research
• Perspectives of particular groups (Ms. Magazine on feminism)
• Reviews of popular literature, art, and films
• Located at libraries, newsstands, and bookstores

Considerations:

• Be wary of bias; objectivity is a myth. What do you know about the publisher? Does the publication have an editorial slant? Who is responsible for content?
• Target audience: General public

Example: Immigration Reform

Here are example citations to magazine articles on this topic:

• Knight, Danielle D. "Alien Anxiety." U.S. News & World
       Report 140.23 (2006): 21.
  
  
• Sarkar, Saurav. "What They're Marching For." Nation 282.24
       (2006): 18-20.
  
  
• McNamara, Patrick. "Senators Don't Know Impact of Immigration Bill."
       Human Events 62.21 (2006): 1-6.

Tools for Finding these Sources

• Academic Search Complete - UTSA Access Only
• ProQuest Research Library - UTSA Access Only