In your research projects, your professor may assign you to find articles from a mix of popular and scholarly sources or publications. An index is a list of subjects or names of persons with references to the exact publication where they occur. Elements of an index include author, title, and subject. Currently indexes exist in both print and electronic formats. Electronic indexes are searchable and include more entry fields for access and searching.
Indexes provide access to articles, books, and other documents by author, title, or subject.
An abstrac t is a summary of an article or a book. It covers major points, summarizes major arguments, informs the subject of research and research methodology, and poses questions for further research. A citation provides publication information of an article or book. Presents qualitative findings of a 4-year study of 150 poor, urban adult African American men who are noncustodial fathers. Scholarly journals publish articles that communicate recent research results in a field of study.