Periodical indexes index magazines, journals and newspapers. Periodical indexes provide access to the content of individual periodical titles. Read the summaries of these articles. Pay close attention to other headings that are used to identify the articles you are interested in. All of the indexes you will be using will contain a citation.
Many indexes also contain an abstract to the article.
An abstract includes a summary of what each article is about. Indexes come in print and electronic format. As you will see, many electronic indexes will contain not only a citation and abstract, but also the full-text of the article. Use search engines and subject directories to locate materials on the Web. Check to see if your class has an bibliography or research guide created by librarians.