Periodicals are an important research tool.
While books are valuable, periodicals provide information on what is most current in a subject area. Books usually have material that is one or more years old or discuss the basics of a subject area. Articles in periodicals are often written about research that is in progress or is recently completed. Magazines are written in very simple language and often are written by a professional writer rather than the person who has done the research work. Many magazines write about the news or other subjects of interest to many people.