Journal articles are usually comprised of original research that is focused on a very narrow aspect of a topic. These articles are written by scholars in a given field and are very authoritative and reliable. Journal articles are published more quickly than books, offering more current information.
Google Scholar will allow you to do a broad search of scholarly materials. You can then try to locate the complete item in the SLU Libraries or on the Web.
Look for the Full-Text Options @ SLU and Library Search links.